November 18, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

French act Hell Militia has issued what I might consider one of the more generic and boring “black metal” releases in recent memory with Last Station on the Road to Death. I’m not exactly sure what the premise or concept of this album was, but in terms of raw black sound and hateful, evil atmosphere this borders more on comedic refuse than sadistic art.

First, the vocals are silly, seemingly phoned in while drunk or otherwise chemically altered. The gasping and growling is not even close to entertaining of “kvtl.” It boggles the mind that these bands come after the initial rise of the second black metal scene and completely dilute the solution with such opaque and diseased music. There are slight moments scattered throughout the songs that make you stop and take notice of the somewhat discernable arrangement of the music, but the vocals are a complete waste without hesitancy or design. The case here is that this music is more laughable than evil, which at this point is more angering than anything else because the conceptual thinker’s black metal has been so egregiously molested that most everything that has followed is simply garbage.

As I said, some of the music is splattered with momentary goodness, but for me to even pick out a song where the feel runs for more than 15 seconds is difficult at best. The bridge (or what I assume is the bridge) in “Et in Inferno Ego” is pretty decent and fits the mood fine, but then this jumbled mess of a riff comes in and destroys the movement like an Italian volcano a village: without regard for structure or history, which is also quite angering. And covering G.G. Allin? I mean, really? I’m all for old school punk, death, gore, even some grind, but that guy was the last person on earth that should ever be covered. But, then again, when a truly basic band covers a basic “artist” like Allin what harm is really done here, other than to laws of intelligence?

To say that getting through this album was a chore just doesn’t seem to do it much justice. I’m not sure whether to be angry that I had to hear something so horribly bleached or disgusted that, once again, I must appeal to all of these European countries to stop pimping Norway’s once innovative sound. For Nature’s sake, stop the damn madness; instead of those old Roadracer ads leaving fecal matter all over our records back in the day espousing the dangers of drug use, they should sticker each new black metal album with this warning:

Black metal is no longer viable. Modern black metal ruins an otherwise proud lineage by raping and pillaging in the name of commercialism. Stop painting your faces! Stop recycling riffs! Stop the madness!           

Release Date: April 30, 2010
Label: Debemur Morti Prod.

TRACK LISTING

1.  Always the Same
2.  Born Without Light
3.  Unshakable Faith
4.  Et in Inferno Ego
5.  The Ultimate Deception
6.  Fili Diaboli
7.  Shoot Knife Strangle Beat &
     Crucify (GG Allin cover)
8.  The Pig that Became a God
9.  Last Station on the Road
     to Death

Total playing time:  47:49

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Hell Militia - Last Station on the Road to Death