BLACK PESTILENCE

BLACK PESTILENCE     "Chaotic Wisdom"

By Dr. Abner Mality

These Calgary misanthropes look like escapees from Mistress Satanna's bondage dungeon crossed with soldiers of Lord Humongous. I was almost expecting a MARILYN MANSON knockoff but thankfully, they play a raw and devilish kind of punk metal which mixes d-beat destruction in the vein of BROKEN BONES and early DISCHARGE with a first wave black metal touch. If Satan's into crust punk, he'd be into this bunch.

Although the music is basic in its approach, it's not so simple that the songs all sound like each other. There's very discernable differences..."A Life of Evil" is propelled by fat and juicy bass, "Infernal Might" is the closest to straight old punk,and is catchy like old MISFITS and the album ending "Animus" starts with pulsing electronic beats before turning into the most purely metallic tune with huge epic riffs. Speaking of electronics, they pop up here with some frequency but never overwhelming the other instruments. They are added in just the right amounts.

The big drawback to the album is it just doesn't sound LOUD enough. The guitar is not real upfront and brutal to match the actual music itself. If that had been corrected, this would have been a Top Ten album from me. As it is, "Chaotic Wisdom" is still pretty enjoyable, with an air of post-apocalyptic debauchery that can't be faked. I'm hoping the next album will be a monster.

BLACK PESTILENCE