Band:	Anaal Nathrakh
Album:	Desideratum
Style:	Black metal, Grindcore
Release date:	October 24, 2014
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Acheronta Movebimus
02. Unleash
03. Monstrum In Animo
04. The One Thing Needful
05. A Firm Foundation Of Unyielding Despair
06. Desideratum
07. Idol
08. Sub Specie Aeterni (Of Maggots And Humanity)
09. The Joystream
10. Rage And Red [feat. Niklas Kvarforth]
11. Ita Mori

From the moment of my introduction to Anaal Nathrakh, I have always considered In The Constellation Of The Black Widow to be their best work. I sense a change on the horizon.

The instrumental "Acheronta Movebimus," perhaps best described as the sound of Stalaggh violently escaping an underground Soviet laboratory, builds the tension until the appropriately-entitled "Unleash" snaps it like Gwen Stacy's neck. The gates open, and floods of deathly nathrakh-ing pour out like a sea of burning oil. Desideratum plays out more like Vanitas than like Passion or In The Constellation Of The Black Widow, but at its heart (or whatever swirling mass of unnatural black ooze it has in the place of a heart), it is the same Anaal Nathrakh we have come to know and fear. It's unstable and visceral grindcore, bleak and soul-chilling black metal, and an assortment of supernaturally wicked shrieks mixed with alien precision into a vile, pestilent assault of evil noise.

As for the fleshy bits surrounding the heart, Gore Tech, purveyor of breakcore/dubstep/insert-loud-and-grisly-genre-here, adds his own brand of embellishment from time to time, which heightens the impression of industrial influence. His occasional input (as on the outstanding "A Firm Foundation Of Unyielding Despair") sets Desideratum apart from the rest of Anaal Nathrakh's catalogue and suggests a largely-untapped gold mine of potential further down that same road. While some might object to any further experimentation with an electronic bent (which, after all, is not exactly consistent with the black metal and grindcore roots of the band), more expansive applications could achieve a most intriguing WHOURKR or Igorrr effect.

Igorrr and Anaal Nathrakh. Now THAT would be a diabolic collaboration for the history books. Speaking of diabolic collaborations, Niklas Kvarforth's presence has inspired some consternation, to say the least. Morbid prognosticators can breathe easy, for the Shining frontman's appearance does not spell doom for the 'thrakh. He's no Rainer Landfermann, but the man knows how to reproduce the sound of someone being violently torn apart from the inside - and when it comes to Anaal Nathrakh, that's all that counts.

Desideratum is Anaal Nathrakh at their best. With absolutely devastating songs like "The One Thing Needful," "Rage And Red," and the title track, this album will leave your eardrums bloody and beaten on the sidewalk of hell.