Band:	Ash Pool
Album:	Genital Tomb
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2006
A review by:	Lucas

01. Lascivious Tyranny
02. Demolishing Obsession
03. First Rape
04. Dragged Down The Cobblestones

Although I haven't heard everything they've released, I dare say Ash Pool peaked on their second demo, Genital Tomb. It is their best release, at least for now (moment of writing: just after For Which He Plies The Lash). What makes Genital Tomb so great is present on all their releases, but on this particular one, every element is presented with extra vehemence.

As with other Ash Pool releases, the most appealing factor is that their music is just so utterly insane and so utterly black. Ash Pool gives Black metal its dangerous and deranged vibe back. Isn't that why we all fell in love with this genre to begin with, because of its constant lurking sense of terror? Especially "Lascivious Tyranny" and "Dragged Down The Cobblestones" (killer track!) convey this atmosphere magnificently. Ash Pool know how to record utterly distorted, noisy and echoing shrieks. And the raging black vortex of riffs behind them... Delicious!

"Demolishing Obsession" is a bit more upbeat, jumpy and punkier, while "First Rape" redefines the meaning of 'lo-fi'. Well, sort of. But I do think it is safe to say that no producer has come within miles of this particular song. Each of the four songs carries Ash Pool's trademark sound, even if they all sound different. That rusty, catchy, maniacally raw and malicious vibe, that... awesome.

Genital Tomb is a great release if you know how to appreciate it. It's a cassette, it''s a demo, it's extremely lo-fi, it's raw, it's extreme, it's pure hate... it's every cliché packed into the skin of a lamb, buried in a forlorn graveyard and dug up months after (at midnight, of course), yet it''s not at all phony or fake. It's Ash Pool!