Chile’s long running blasphemers, Godless, shatter their nine year silence with a venomous earth shattering assault.
GODLESS
Godless may be a common moniker in metal circles but this Chilean incarnation has held a stable line up since 1997 with only a recent change in guitarist. Chile’s death metal scene has been awash with quality acts as it is safe to say Godless rank at the upper echelons and this latest album is sure to gain global recognition even though it has arrived nine years after 2017’s Omega Omnipotens EP.
ADVERSUS PAROUSIA
Godless’ discography makes their anti or irreligious theming unmistakable as the new album title itself signals outright opposition to any second coming of Christ or something to that effect. Across the eight tracks and paired with the bleak album cover this sophomore is as ugly and nihilistic as anything likely to surface this year. Unexpectedly the album kicks off with its longest song, Ingenitus – Ekstasis, and whilst it is tempting to use online translation tools for the oft lengthy song titles I have refrained to let you indulge in that yourself. The opener crashes in like a pyroclastic flow, hurtling down a mountain slope of abrasive guitar riffing and battering drum work setting a violent unhinged tone for everything that follows.
OMEGA OMNIPOTENS: HOSANNA IN NULLIFICATIO
Palpable horror threads through as Omega Omnipotens: Hosanna In Nullificatio erupts with majestic malevolence from the outset. The blasted sortie is barbaric as are the inhuman grotesque vocals which plunge to subterranean depths using both deep resonant growls and terrifying screeches. There is absolutely no respite anywhere as Plaga Vobiscum (Et Cum Spirit Tuo) continues the onslaught with tangible cacophonous speed ravaging the listener from start to finish.
PNEUMA KHAOS
With a stark change in pacing Pneuma Khaos is crawling doom-death with ghoulish vocals that lead into a sudden burst of cascading double kick that is oddly catchy. There are plenty of band reference points I can name such as Incantation and Immolation with a smattering of Covenant era Morbid Angel all echoing through the tracks. Though the album is largely a relentless barrage it is periodically tempered with slower, calmer passages such as Ekstasis – Cosmogravis where funereal dirge pacing breeds a sludge soaked aura of menacing guitar hooks and beastly vocals. The way the band drops into a skulking abyssal crawl leaves indelible stains as the dissonance leaves a distinctly disturbing imprint.
NUMENLAGNEIA
I love the riff work on this album as Numenlagneia possesses one of its most savage and primal openings. The mid-tempo snapping snare produces metronomic violence before the detonating blast beat. Closing the release with slow penetrating darkness is Et Verbum Nihil Factum Est, where sudden speed incursions collide with corruptive slower segments to produce a final nightmarish descent.
An immense slab of Chilean extremity as Godless stand triumphant with this unyielding merciless statement of sonic ruin.
Godless: Bandcamp
Nuclear Winter Records: Bandcamp