Black Anvil - Time Insults the Mind

November 10, 2009

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

New York City’s metal scene, once bustling with thrash and death metal activity, hasn’t been especially lively in quite a while, and its black metal scene in particular has never really been much to speak of, despite the critical successes of more recent acts like Krallice, Malkuth, and the sadly defunct Thralldom.  While these are all fine bands, the bands of the Big Apple, and, more specifically, the borough of Brooklyn tend to all lean more towards the experimental or avant-garde side of the black metal spectrum.  The fact that the City has hardly ever produced any blackened thrash metal has always intrigued me considering New York’s undisputed place of importance in the development and prosperity of thrash and speed metal in the eighties.

Black Anvil, a new entry into the field of NYC black metal and comprised of members of bygone New York Hardcore band Kill Your Idols, (Howl and wail, purists) have thankfully stepped forward to fill this void and do so quite successfully on debut album Time Insults the Mind.  An invigorating departure from the overly-artsy black metal that Lower East Side hipsters love to pontificate about over ironic brunches, Time Insults the Mind is straightforward and deadly, the product of good musicians playing outside of their normal niche, but without forcing it or trying too hard to fit themselves into the framework of their new style.  The thrashier, more up-tempo tracks like killer “Ten Talons Deep” and “Release the Kraken” are highlights of the album and showcase the band’s talent for razor-sharp riffing, and inventive, high-speed soloing.  They do slow it down a bit on tracks like “On This Day Death” and “777”, and though they are absolutely well-written and heavy as hell, at times I’ve found myself wishing these songs were a little bit more maniacal tempo-wise; the situation in which I think Black Anvil is at their most effective. 

The black metal of Time Insults the Mind is decidedly punk and NYHC influenced, with plenty of those styles' sense of groove and violent energy matched with an immediately apparent fondness for the mid-eighties masters of thrash, and some good old rock and roll sensibilities that make for an intense, enjoyable listen.   Black Anvil is creating tons of buzz on the east coast, and a follow-up album is hotly anticipated.

Release Date: September 1, 2009
Label:  Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Margin For Terror
2.  Ten Talons Deep
3.  Deathsomnia
4.  On This Day Death
5.  Release The Kraken
6.  And You Thought
     You Knew Pain!
7.  777
8.  L.T.H.L.T.K.
9.  Dethroned Emperor
    (Celtic Frost Cover)

Total playing time: 36:00

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