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Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment review




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Band: Antediluvian
Album: The Divine Punishment
Release date: September 2021


01. Obscene Pornography Manifests In The Divine Universal Consciousness
02. All Along The Sigils Deep
03. How The Watchers Granted The Humans Sex Magick In The Primordial Aeon
04. Guardians Of The Liminal
05. Tamasic Masturbation Ritual
06. Sadomaniacal Katabasis (Last Fuck Of The Dying)
07. Temple Prostitute
08. Circumcision Covenant
09. White Throne
10. The Liar's Path
11. Winged Ascent Unto The Twelve Runed Solar Anus

This is a monstrosity of an album that will not leave any listener indifferent. Depending on whom you ask, this is either high praise or an insult. Be prepared for a hellish and bizarre experience like no other.

The Canadian trio of Antediluvian quickly carved a name for themselves with their debut Through The Cervix Of Hawaah. The bestial style of black/death metal on that record was eerie with a misty, noisy production that made the whole affair sound frighteningly unstable. The following album, λόγος, had an even more extreme approach with a far denser, bass-heavy sound. It was a more chaotic beast, with even fewer sections that held any form of structural integrity.

The Divine Punishment marks the first full length in 8 years. With a monolithic length of over an hour, it’s almost like getting two albums. Let me assure you, my friends, few people will be able to stomach this release in one go. However, I implore you to push forward, for there is not a single song on this album that won’t make you ask yourself what the hell you are listening to as every odd feature unfolds before you. For each musical aspect you’d come to expect from relentless black/death metal of the cosmic-horror variety, Antediluvian takes it too far into the weird and unacceptable.

Haasiophis’ vocals are among the most deranged and virulent you could ever find. He sounds like different types of demons crying, whispering, moaning and growling all at once. The growls, which take most of the spotlight, are so low, gargling and caustic that they seem to fit better with a grindcore band at times. They will most certainly turn some people off, but one cannot deny the otherworldliness they provide with their disturbing tone. The intensity of the riffs is doubled by their erratic behavior. The structures shift. The riffs shift. Everything does, yet the atmosphere remains the same: Of pure chaos and darkness. The constant change of tone and pace gives the album an alarming, dangerous vibe. The mixing makes them sound completely alien to an almost psychedelic degree. This is particularly true with the leads and solos; that poor guitar has been stretched through infinity by a black hole summoned by Yog-Sothoth. Just marvel at the musical massacre that is “All Along The Sigils Deep”. It is disorienting, lunatic and so delightfully sickening. Some other times, like on the track “How The Watchers...”, the leads become melodic and just barely hold everything together, perfectly portraying the slow death of all sense and mental stability. However, if there is one element that every listener should be impressed by, it is the drumming. Mars Sekhmet is a true master of her craft, and I’m yet to find a drummer which such a mental style. It is primitive yet highly intricate, with a very present tribal sound that adds so many flavors to each song. Putting them just a bit above everything else was a smart move, as they provide the glue that holds this cosmic chaos together and heavily complement the wildness of the riffs and solos.

I feel like I could go on and on and on about all the outlandish elements you can find on The Divine Punishment: The choirs, the acoustic guitars, the over-the-top synths and samples, the fascinating mix of dying guitar leads and unhuman drumming. There is even a beautiful violin on “Guardians Of The Liminal” that takes my breath away. All these things and so much more add to what is an incredibly rich yet confusing album. Some people will surely avoid it like the plague, as all the adjectives I’ve used so far could be taken under a favorable or unfavorable light depending on who is listening. But if you are like me, you will become fascinated and try to digest and dissect every aspect of this maniacal album.

This is the sound of galaxies collapsing. This is the perversion and transgression of all things. This is divine punishment.





Written on 12.10.2021 by A lazy reviewer but he is so cute you'd forgive him for it.


Comments

Comments: 19   Visited by: 101 users
12.10.2021 - 16:54
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Achievement unlocked!

YEAH 666 WORDS ON A REVIEW. HAIL SATAN.

In case any reader has any doubts: Yes. I absolutely LOVED this album. The reason why I went for a N/A rating is because of what I wrote: Every aspect that I loved could very well be one someone absolutely hates. Highly divisive music but that's the beauty of it.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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12.10.2021 - 17:30
Rating: 6
Alex F
Slick Dick Rick
Nice review! Will have to check this out even though I'm not the biggest fan of their style
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12.10.2021 - 19:55
Rating: 3
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by X-Ray Rod on 12.10.2021 at 16:54

someone absolutely hates

Hello there
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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12.10.2021 - 20:23
Rating: 7
musclassia

^Moi aussi - like Sermon Of Flames, I respect the effort but don't like the outcome, but in this case I found it much less likeable than Sermon Of Flames. I enjoyed reading the review whilst proofing it though, you do an excellent job of selling its essence, whatever one's response to that will be
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12.10.2021 - 21:02
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Alex F on 12.10.2021 at 17:30
Nice review! Will have to check this out even though I'm not the biggest fan of their style

I'd say that liking or not liking the previous two albums isn't necessarily an indication of tou enjoying this one mainly because of all the new things added to it. Of course, liking the previous efforts makes for a more obvious interest to check this one out but still. You get the idea. Let me know what you think of it after you sit through it! I'd say the 3 songs I mentioned by name are the ones people should really sink their teeth on if the only want to have a taste before going for the whole thing.


Written by musclassia on 12.10.2021 at 20:23
I enjoyed reading the review whilst proofing it though, you do an excellent job of selling its essence, whatever one's response to that will be

Thank you for your compliment! And yes, my main objective is to draw curiosity. People should definitely give it a chance no matter the outcome just because of how unique the result is.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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13.10.2021 - 00:02
Rating: 3
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by musclassia on 12.10.2021 at 20:23

^Moi aussi - like Sermon Of Flames

Sermon Of Flames did not have a ten minute long piece with some lazily processed vocals larping about 666, nor bits where you have a suspicion that someone accidentally moved the drum track a couple of miliseconds after the guitars, nor vocals that sound like that time me and a pal of mine tried to record acapella goregrind.
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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13.10.2021 - 00:27
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Excuse me... That track is only 6:42 long.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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13.10.2021 - 05:05
UnknownCheese

Tapped out after 15 minutes. Cosmic rifflessness with stupid sounding Monty Python horse clomping drums. At least Through the Cervix is only just only a half hour. And had K.S as a member then.
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13.10.2021 - 07:47
Rating: 3
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by X-Ray Rod on 13.10.2021 at 00:27

Excuse me... That track is only 6:42 long.

Sure felt a lot longer
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
Loading...
13.10.2021 - 08:21
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by UnknownCheese on 13.10.2021 at 05:05
Tapped out after 15 minutes. Cosmic rifflessness with stupid sounding Monty Python horse clomping drums. At least Through the Cervix is only just only a half hour. And had K.S as a member then.


Rifflessness? This one is filled with them. I’d say they are even clearer now compared to the previous two albums as the production is cleaner. Specially compared to Logos which is odd to me because that one, for the most part, got a positive reaction on this site.

First comment I read not liking the drums as well. Her technique is incredible and I just dont hear bad production on it. Oh well. I was prepared to be somewhat alone on this one.

I thank you for giving it a try anyhow!! That is always the most important thing for me. Cheers.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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13.10.2021 - 09:34
Deadsoulman

Poor Roddy Let me back you up a little bit here.

The first two tracks perplexed me a little bit, they're way too formless for my taste and I've never been a fan of those deconstructed BM/DM bands. 'How The Watchers...' is where things started getting interesting and more recognizable so to speak. I usually need something to cling to when I listen to music and the rest of the album provided plenty of that with cool riffs, weird effects and those drums... Unlike some, I actually enjoyed the way the drums always sound on the fringes. I don't know if it was intentional, but they sometimes sound as if they've been recorded in mono, and that gives a strange impression of the music being on the brink of madness. Anyway, this is not something I'm going to listen to very often, but I do appreciate the effort.

White Throne is stupid, though.

Also, I would very much like to know what a twelve-runed solar anus is, but I'm a little afraid to google it.
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13.10.2021 - 10:48
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Deadsoulman on 13.10.2021 at 09:34
I don't know if it was intentional, but they sometimes sound as if they've been recorded in mono, and that gives a strange impression of the music being on the brink of madness.


The drums and how they sound remind me a bit of the drums on Ordo Ad Chao which was also extremely controversial production-wise at the time it was released.

Thank you for your input! But do not feel sorry for me. I wrote everything while knowing I was going to be quite alone. The first two tracks do seem to be gatekeepers but I believe they make more sense structure-wise once the full album is heard and you go back to them for revisit. I'm always intrigued by extreme metal bands that do that sort of thing. Like Portal or Impentuous Ritual where the first listening is pretty maddening yet the second one suddenly makes way more sense. Think I did 6 full listenings (not in one day though) before writing anything other than just footnotes.

And yeah, the songtitles are quite something.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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13.10.2021 - 15:19
Rating: 7
opeth518

Nice review! Not bad overall, sitting at a 7 pending another spin at work to fully digest it. White Throne is dreadful and should have been clipped bringing this under 1 hour. Drums also remind me of "close to a world below" by Immolation, at least the opener from that album. Off doing their own thing and "Slappy" like, if you will.
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13.10.2021 - 15:49
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by opeth518 on 13.10.2021 at 15:19
Drums also remind me of "close to a world below" by Immolation, at least the opener from that album. Off doing their own thing and "Slappy" like, if you will.


Good call on Immolation! The type of ”cyclical” fillers and wild turns of pacing does remind me of Close To A World Below with extra tribal on top.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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14.10.2021 - 23:56
nikarg

Ok Rod, I'll back you up too (almost). At first, I liked the review more than the album itself. This was quite a difficult listen and I am not sure I will ever come back to it. Like others said, "White Throne" has no reason to exist.

However, I did like “Guardians Of The Liminal” a lot. The track titles are great. And the drumming is very interesting indeed (both performance and sound), by far the best thing about this album for me.
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15.10.2021 - 22:53
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by nikarg on 14.10.2021 at 23:56
However, I did like “Guardians Of The Liminal” a lot. The track titles are great. And the drumming is very interesting indeed (both performance and sound), by far the best thing about this album for me.


Glad you sorta liked it. The drumming alone is reason enough to check this album out. If you want a somewhat less out-there experience from this guys then I strongly recommend the debut. More contained with its 30 mins length and doesn't have a track like White Throne haha.

And yes, “Guardians Of The Liminal” is straight up brilliant. I'd say the first 4 songs in total are a great listen. I personally will come back to it a lot once I get my physical copy. But I'll take a pause until then. It is a lot to take in after all.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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24.10.2021 - 22:46
Desha
delicious dish
Apart from White Throne, I really enjoyed it. Felt a bit too long, but yeah I liked how this takes war metal and makes it a bit more interesting by just adding loads of stuff ("Guardians of the Liminal" is my favourite here). Don't really get the hate, but I'm not super into making music so maybe I'm not paying attention to details enough haha
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You are the hammer, I am the nail
building a house in the fire on the hill
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25.10.2021 - 22:26
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Desha on 24.10.2021 at 22:46
but I'm not super into making music

WHat does that mean?
Glad you enjoyed it though. It is a very interesting lsitening for sure and extremely forward-thinking album considering how war-metal tends to be.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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04.11.2021 - 16:43
Alakazam
spendin' cheese
The 666 song was all that matters, it was like a homage to the noise narrative style used on such track:

The rest of it, well, was the same blAntediluvian strand of formula that you either know, or don't. Not a critic to the review, however.
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I may not have the largest collection but I certainly have the absolute best

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