Anaal Nathrakh – Desideratum (2014)

One of the most brutal bands in Metal finally returns with their 8th full-length release titled “Desideratum”. Constantly striving to destroy your speakers, this British duo has made some of the most disturbing and massive sounding releases in history. In this album, we see the band shift gears a bit, and while there are still plenty of ridiculously brutal sections, there are also some more melodic and separable passages in their music. This results in a very well balanced release that is both brutal and melodic, making them more approachable for other people that might want something a bit tamer to their earlier efforts.

The band opens with the highly atmospheric instrumental “Acheronta Movebimus”, a song that has an odd mixture of Industrial with Djent-style percussions paired with some evil Black Metal riffing. After the perfect mood setter, the onslaught of brutality quickly rolls in with “Unleash”. This track is quite intense and diabolical, but what stands out the most for us is the clean vocals and the melodic edge to it. As the punches keep coming in with “Monstrum In Animo”, we also notice that as “A Firm Foundation of Unyielding Despair” and “The One Thing Needful” rolls in, there is a certain focus on the Industrial/Electronic elements that shifts the momentum a bit from the Extreme nature of the music.  However, this last track has some superbly sinister guitar work that made it one of our favorites of the release.

The variety of vocal styles used is quite impressive as they all perfectly fit the sections of the songs they are used on. We love how the band goes from shrieks into clean vocal melodies and then into growls seamlessly as the music keeps the intensity level quite high. A perfect example of this is the album title track “Desideratum”. With a certain playful and retro feeling, “Sub Specie Aeterni” has very cool Thrash-esque vibe that nicely weaves back and forth between the band’s usual sound.

Featuring Niklas Kvarforth on “Rage and Red”, this track has that extra edge to take it over the top. The riffing is quite crushing, and the blistering percussions are just perfect for the level of dementia presented in this track. Leaving us on a high note, the superbly Black Metal-esque “Ita Mori” reminds us that Anaal Nathrakh does not fuck around and can blast away with as much brutality as they wish, and this song is the perfect example of this.

Overall, “Desideratum” is a well-constructed exercise in brutality that with its melodic passages, will allow more people to be able to digest it and enjoy it. Don’t get us wrong, you will get your dosage of ear-raping Anaal Nathrakh, but you will also get some brilliantly crafted melodic passages that will make you appreciate the musical contrasts even more. If you are looking for sheer brutality, but don’t want to miss out on actually structured music, look no further and get this killer album.

Label: Metal Blade Records

Release: October 28th, 2014

Genre: Extreme/ Industrial Metal

Country: UK