Anaal Nathrakh – Passion (2011)

The UK’s most brutal band is back with yet another crushing release that will blow your eardrums. With “Passion”, Anaal Nathrakh continues their Grindcore infused Black Metal aural assaults. With 10 tracks and 36 minutes of hellish vocals and relentless drumming, we are sure that “Passion” will make the top 10 list of most brutal albums of 2011.

With the first brutal track “Volenti Non Fit Iniuria”, we are treated to the traditional destructive sound of the band with powerful guitar riffs, massive drums and the hellish vocals of Dave Hunt, with the added bonus of clean vocal chorus sections and some melodic parts mixed in between. This track is a very effective warm-up for the 7 minute epic “Drug-Fucking Abomination” that follows.

In this second track you get some of the more ‘traditional’ Black Metal riffing structures with nicely layered guitars. The production in this release is very massive, as in all recent releases of the band, and it allows you to fully enjoy the deranged vocal and sounds perfectly mixed with the music. In “Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria” we have some electronic samples that make this song a tad more deranged than usual, and we totally love it. The vocal processing is as sick as always, making the band sound distinctively inhuman.

“Tod Huetet Uebel” is probably the most Black Metal song in this release, and our favorite one. The riffing is impeccable and the drumming keeps things rolling in hyper drive. The vocals are a bit atypical for a BM song, but they are 100% Anaal Nathrakh. This track blends seamlessly into “Paragon Pariah”, another anthem of destruction that keeps the intensity of this release rolling.

“Ashes Screaming Silences” comes as the most dissonant song of this release with samples and distorted vocals that will give you nightmares. Mixed into the brutality we have some clean vocals that sometimes reminded us of uber faster version of Borknagar. The album closes with the experimental semi-Noise track “Portrait of the Artits”, and your eardrums can finally rest, for a few seconds until you find the re-play button.

As we all know, Anaal Nathrakh excels in creating brutal and relentless music. With “Passion”, the band continues this tradition and delivers an excellent album that will blast you away since track one.  While their approach is not revolutionary, the band will still crush your soul and make you buy this release on the basis that is the most brutal stuff you can get.

Release: May 17th, 2011

Country: UK