Black Anvil - Triumvirate

Release Date: September 28, 2010
Label: Relapse Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  What is Life if Not Now!
2.  Crippling
3.  The Evil of All Roots
4.  Ultimate Reality
5.  We Own You
6.  Scalping
7.  Eliminate
8.  Dead and Left
9.  With Transparent Blood
10.  Veadtuck (Von Cover)

Total playing time:  41:35

November 1, 2010

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

Relapse picking up, and then re-releasing Black Anvil’s debut album Time Insults the Mind was one of the most important happenings in metal last year, and certainly one of the most important things to happen to the New York City metal scene in many years.  Though it would seem the band has been (unfairly) having a bit of a difficult time getting a fair shake, this almost underdog status has them achieving great great things.  Simply put, Black Anvil is EXACTLY what a NYC black metal band should sound like.  Don’t get me wrong, I can certainly appreciate, and even enjoy some of the overly-sophisticated, often sanitary black metal the Apple has to offer these days, but it’s usually a little too akin to the grand-scale sterilization the city itself has undergone over the last 25 years or so.  Black Anvil’s sound harkens back to the glorious days of grime when the city was bathed in a thick film of nastiness and menace, when simply visiting one of today’s most family friendly areas of Manhattan could get your ass stabbed.  Their down to earth working class approach to black metal, like the city of the early 80s, vibrates with a sense of tension and danger that graces both city and band with a unique brand of turbulent stimulation. 

Triumvirate, somewhat improbably, improves on the fantastic debut in almost every way.  Openers “What is Life if Not Now!” and “The Evil of all Roots” showcase the band at their best.  Fast, vicious and dangerous, both tracks muscle their way in with memorable, savage riffs while displaying a tightened two-and-a-half turns past tight already songwriting.  An improved capacity for slower tempos manifests itself in the serpentine “With Transparent Blood”, while “Ultimate Reality” and “We Own You” emphasize a heightened ability to meld tempos and themes within single songs; the latter starting out as one of their most traditional black metal sounding tracks and ending in a groove-heavy percussively pummeling NYC stomp.  The production on Triumvirate sounds massive, Delaney’s vocals are pure acid, and Black Anvil is just killing it these days.  Let’s hope the press and the masses can start giving this band the respect they deserve for the music they’re making now rather than stubbornly obsessing over the music the members’ other bands played.

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments: