Weapon - From the Devil’s Tomb

October 25, 2010

Canada emerges yet again with another black metal band worthy of the tag and definitive of both the classic sound and the current reinvention. Weapon offers its second full-length titled From the Devil’s Tomb, and of course it’s quite ‘black’ in design and formula, yet there’s something quite intriguing and different about this group and the music showcases just how it will stick to your cortex if you allow it to.

The sound borders on melodic black/death with a touch of progressive elements within several tracks and of note “Vested in Surplice, and Violet Stole,” which is so intricate and full of twists and turns you’re not quite sure what to expect. It’s not every day a band does that to me, especially a black metal band, but Weapon is creeping up my personal list of great newer bands. The music on Tomb can easily sound like Venom crashing head on into Watain, creating a hybrid that is not only entertaining but fascinating in its simplicity garbed in palpable brilliance. I thought last year’s Drakonian Paradigm would be tough to top, pretty much sealing the one-and-done envelope as is sadly the case with most black metal bands of the current era, but once more my preconceived notions leave me with egg on my face, and happily so.

I find interesting nuances in every track on this album. The typical, yet fascinating black tremolo-rage of “Vortex 11724” offers just the right amount of accelerated evil and slower-paced introspection for the black metal connoisseur of either era. Vetis Monarch growls appropriately with both volatility and enunciation, marking Weapon as one of the better acts to emerge from this habitually molested scene in recent years. The production on Tomb is just raw enough to appease the “kvlt” fan in us all, yet vibrant enough to show pride and effort in the work as a whole. This is all-encompassing and refreshing to see in a scene seemingly bent on destroying otherwise fine music under this adopted credo of muddy recording devices. “LEFTHANDPATHYOGA” is a somewhat beautiful stand-alone piece of art that won’t redefine the scene, but does allow for a nice break in the mayhem and brilliance of this offering. There’s literally nothing on this album that won’t impress you if this is your style of metal.

I also enjoy this album because it has some serious elements of death metal within without sounding like a kettle of sludge and clicking noises for vocals. The brutality that is “The Inner Wolf” is only more dynamic when the spoken verses pop in from nowhere and sound neither generic nor like an after-thought; I do believe this to be my favorite track on the album. What was great about Weapon’s debut was the lack of total focus on speed and/or an obligatory evil image, which usually leaves the actual music to meander in the mire of boredom. From the Devil’s Tomb not only picks up where Drakonian Paradigm left off, but redraws the line between epic and dismal within nine powerful tracks of death and evil.     

For the fan of black-death metal Weapon is easily a band that can harness your emotional strife for all things holy and pure; the almost dissociative feel of this album is one that should not be dismissed as regulatory hype by any means. Weapon is the real deal for all that is inherently black in your soul.  

Release Date: November 1st, 2010
Label: Ajna / Agonia Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  From The Devil's Tomb
2.  Vested in Surplice, and
      Violet Stole
3.  Furor Divinus
4.  Vortex - 11724
5.  LEFTHANDPATHYOGA
6.  The Inner Wolf
7.  Sardonyx
8.  Trishul
9.  Towards The Uncreated

Total playing time:  54:20

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Chris