Apochryphal Revelation – Primeval Devilish Wisdom (2020)
USA
Nuclear War Now!
Apochryphal Revelation is a Kentucky-based black metal band that shares members with Catacomba, Master's Curse, and Pyromancer. "Primeval Devilish Wisdom" is their second full-length album and follow-up to 2017's "Reverence For The Kings of Hell." The band plays an old-school style of black metal redolent of bands like Mortuary Drape, Mystifier, Master's Hammer, etc. The music does a good job at channelling that ancient, arcane atmosphere which made the aforementioned bands such an enigma in the first place. I like the hefty bass sound in the mix, it adds a really menacing edge. The band also added keyboards, but whereas some bands use it in a predominant way, Apochryphal Revelation only use them sparingly to add depth to the music. The cavernous production is complimentary to the music and does in no way feel faux. The vocalist emits a deep, bestial grunt, supported with an array of ominous riffs and primitive, yet effective beats. My only beef with this album is the fact that there's more interludes that actual songs. I think it would've been better to merge some of them into one song as they tend to flow into each other. So now you have like three tracks that could've been basically one song. Consequently, the interludes are all well done, I just think there's too many of them. All in all, the music is killer, as Apochryphal Revelation is a band that expertly conveys that old occult feeling reminiscent of the bands mentioned earlier, including Acheron, Varathron, Von, etc. Nuclear War Now has a tendency to put out some generic stuff, although Apochryphal Revelation is certainly not. Definitely check them out if you like any of the aforementioned bands. (HT)
https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/primeval-devilish-wisdom