As the year approaches its final quarter, patience can wane when it comes to the mass of releases that bombard us each year. It’s a nice thing to have, just to clarify, but man it can get monotonous. When I get to the point of compiling contenders for the annual top 40, there are so many records I have to revisit just because I don’t really remember them.
“Anthropic Rites of Sublimation” by German black metal alchemists Ch’ahom will not be one of those record that feels murky to me because it makes itself stand out based on its originality and brutality. The band—vocalist/guitarist A.G.A., guitarist S.P.S., bassist A.M., drummer G.P.—creates its own fantasy world that they based in pre-Hispanic history (so we’re heading way back), and the tribal rhythms, chants, and ancient smoke wrap their chaos in something that feels wrested from a bizarre time capsule. Over five tracks and 29 minutes, they storm from beyond and absorb you into the violent fray.
“Cult of Xaman” is eerie when it begins, rhythmic passages making your psyche shake, and suddenly beastly black metal is on top of you, pinning you to the ground and landing blows. Howls blacken as the playing brutalizes, guitars blaze with fury, and the pace clubs, the final moments tangling you with time. “Reign of Nohol” rings out, ritualistic movements vibrating, the guitars peeling into that as roars scorch, and the playing stretches nerves. Wild calls buckle knees as the pace lashes, a speedy attack mounting an offensive, leaving bodies flattened in ancient mud. “Priests of Lik’in” feels percussive and prehistoric to start, and then the power unloads, guitars melt and give off electricity, and the cries leave brush burns. The playing sprawls before getting tricker, the intensity batters, and the guitars snarl again before everything fades into time.
“Chosen of Chik’in” gazes in otherworldly woodwinds, unleashing tribal spirits, and then the guitars arrive and mash, growls claw, and spacious melodies add a thick fog. From there, the band trucks, the pace combusts, and all hell breaks loose, leads lashing with fire, the tempo boiling to the bitter end. Closer “Insemination” runs 10:44, and it opens with liquids bubbling, space beams slicing the sky, and the playing opening generously, attacking with speed and soot. The temperatures dip for a bit, cool, calm waters flowing, flutes enrapturing, wounds congealing until the chaos returns. Leads blaze and bend backward, howls scorch as the shouts of, “Sacrifice!” ripple, and delirious playing floods, fueling the final power surge that blasts into oblivion.
“Anthropic Rites of Sublimation” is one of the strangest black metal records you’re bound to experience this year, and Ch’ahom inject a long-faded spirit into these songs to make them pump with ghostly life. Which is weird for a record so indebted to death, as this tale of self-destruction makes for a jarring experience both physically and emotionally. It’s an album drawn toward annihilation, and that’s just what it delivers.
For more on the band, go here: https://chahom.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/chahom
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 