Avsky - Malignant

I normally only review stuff that has made at least a marginal impression on me, and this only kind-of has. However, it's the first black metal album that I've actually bought so I figure I might as well write about it.

It was really quite an impulse buy. I saw an article on Blabbermouth about a track that was released from this album before the album release and checked it out. I think it was the first track. I thought it was pretty good, and I felt like buying something I guess.

So it arrived yesterday, and I've listened through it a few times now. There isn't really that much special about it. It's definitely not bad, although the vocals try to emulate the lo-fi black metal style of yore that I don't really like much at all. The instrumentation is pretty solid. At times the beat reminds me of (possibly) my favorite BM album ever, Manifest by Semargl. A sort of machine-like crushing power.

I don't listen to that much BM. My favorites of the genre are the previously mentioned Semargl, along with Emperor, Anaal Nathrakh, Immortal, Deathspell Omega, and maybe Gorgoroth. Ulver used to be BM but I don't like their output from that period, as it was in the lo-fi style. Much too grating.

This album has a slightly grating quality, but not enough to make me ignore it. The lyrics are pretty nasty, as is expected with "tr00" BM. Not needlessly gory or anything like death metal but more of a savage hatred toward inferiority, in line with what I know about Satanism, which isn't much. Lyrics are only given for two of the eight tracks though (unlike Anaal Nathrakh who don't release any of their lyrics).

I think I could grow to enjoy this, but there really isn't that much going on to go crazy about.