Band:	Holodomor
Album:	Témoignages de la Gnose Terrestre
Style:	Black metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	March 2012
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. Fall Into Time
02. The Spell Of Black Affliction
03. Tribulation Stigmata
04. Evoke
05. The Iconoclast

I feel like I just woke up to a really bad fucking hangover. And not in the worst possible way, but still not in a good way. I mean... it's a hangover. If you consume too much alcohol and forget to hydrate before passing out, you're gonna have a bad time.

Not that this is an all-around bad time. First, allow me to lift a description from the band's website: "Holodomor debut MCD Témoignages de la Gnose Terrestre presents five devastating pieces of sonic cruelty executed with an immense brutality. Conceptually soaring beyond the clichés of ideological fallacies of the genre, the spirit of Holodomor conveys genuine visions of inhumanity, violence and self-abjection."

Genuine visions of inhumanity, violence, and self-abjection. I can definitely get on board with that. This 15-minute massacre is pretty much about as raw as it gets - as creatively carnal as extreme metal allows. Anaal Nathrakh levels of "fuck your understanding of abrasiveness and extremity", but these guys stay away from the grindcore elements and instead focus on writing some thrashed-out black metal. Even with the limited time they have, the songs manage to change their paces quite often. At times you're faced with a complete aural assault, while some mid-paced moments sneak in from time to time to hint at some atmosphere here and there.

Not exactly something I'd consider to be "beyond the clichés of ideological fallacies of the genre", but it's not all bad. The raw production gives it an authentic feel, as if the album was recorded live (and I wouldn't be surprised if it was), but this sometimes prevents the listener from fully grasping what the band truly have in store. They seem to be holding back in the songwriting department, as if for now they're content simply showing off how extreme they can be while still throwing in a few pace-changing sections and subtle melodies between all the brutal chainsaw riffing.

Overall this EP does a decent job at capturing a live sound from an underground band hoping to make noise in the coming years with their personal take on black metal. Unfortunately there just isn't enough going on and with the "holding back" vibe it gives off, it's hard to consider this a strong - or even good - release. After repeated listens it does have headache-inducing capabilities, and that's probably what the band members were aiming for. However, I don't get shitfaced every weekend for a reason. You'll have to be in that kind of mood for this release. Otherwise, shit's gonna piss you off.