| CD REVIEW Anguished |
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Band: Anguished Anguished is a one-woman formation from the cold snow fields of Suomi, created by Possessed Demoness. For this debut full length, she worked with a session drummer (Mental Penetrator) and an external producer / master / mixer / engineer (Niflungr, related to the Nifhel Studio), but the rest (other instruments, vocals, lyrics and compositions) she did herself. Most one-person projects are both underground and miles away from any commercial goal, and this goes for Anguished too. But let’s start with a minor point: the vocals. Our dearest possessed chick sort of has an annoying high-pitched voice, balancing between hysterical and maniacal, and sorry, sweet darling, but I think it’s rather pathetic and almost self-sarcastic??? And what about the (few) ‘melodic’ voices???
No, it isn’t that bad, but if you compare those vocals with the other elements (instrumental performance, song writing, atmosphere, sound etc), there is a huge difference, unfortunately.
When it comes to the compositions, well, these are more than acceptable. This stuff is barbaric, primitive and nihilistic, touching the most abyssal underground-borders of the North-American (US + Canada) and North / West-European (Scandinavia, France, Holland, Belgium) scene. I do hear Gorath, Vultyr, Burzum, Darkthrone, Craft, Mortifera, Shining, Inferi, Krieg, Judas Iscariot, Hell Militia, Slecht, Krohm, Lugubre or Horna, and what’s more, not always yet at least a few times, the level of these lovely bands and projects gets equalled. Oh yes, musically this material sweetly caresses my misanthropic pleasures. The bleakness is overwhelming, the coldness oppressing, the grimness suffocates, and the hypnotic sound isn’t but another superior craft. The production is dry, rough and unpolished, getting rid of any modern over-mixing, getting rid of any ‘popular’ addition, getting rid of any would-be stupidity – you do shamelessly hear the purity and honesty behind this cold stuff. It’s simple, like the title, yet not cheap! 86/100 Ivan Tibos. |