Review by Jeger on July 10, 2024.

The convoluted USBM scene - a movement that has struggled to find an identity outside of the old heads: Xasthur, Judas Iscariot and Nachtmystium. I would throw Inquisition in there but they’re on a level of their own. UADA? Wolves In The Throne Room? Hard pass, although I do hold a soft spot for the former, I’d hardly call what they do true black metal, but this! Just a few minutes into this thing and goosebumps. From out of the frigid Minneapolis / Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA area emerge Grand Demise Of Civilization and with them they’ve brought a little something called “Hell Metal”. Don’t worry it’s black metal… Only of a most profound variety. Real end of days-heralding shit here and set to ensnaring passages fraught with lulling dreamscapes that promise tranquility only to deliver you mercilessly into The Blaze Of Abaddon, released via Ordovician Records on June 4, 2024… 

When you truly bust the brakes off of black metal and dial the intensity and the creativity into the red, you get “hold my beer” records like The Blaze Of Abaddon where nothing is as it seems and everything you thought you knew about black metal goes out the window… Oh yeah, it’s one of those. It’s a fine line to walk when a collective decides to put forth a genuine effort to change the game like this. It still must be black metal and of course the truer the better. Doesn’t have to be crusty attic black metal but the energy must be right. In this case, like the culmination of decades worth of suffering boiling over into a frantic disembowelment-like series of fevered cuts like 'Cathedral Reaper' and 'Silencer' that see the band as they rip through the early 90’s worshipping fabric of the genre, all the while as they weave a much more elaborate sonic tapestry of their own. 

Ever listen to Helfró’s debut self-titled LP? Great stuff, complex and overwhelmingly dynamic. You’ll get those vibes here, but this thing is a much more elaborate production. Fucking nightmare fuel pumping along with all that cortisol sheer horror, but the suspense ride comes to a halt midway through as you absorb the awe-inspiring intro to 'Nephilm'. These are the kinds of arrangements that only elite musicians are capable of, and the entire record feels almost like some sort of grand theatrical black metal production or like the most badass black metal supergroup you could possibly put together recorded it. And still radiating all that evil energy just the way black metal is supposed to. 

Not much in the way of competition against this bunch. Wouldn’t want them opening for my band… Hate to have to try to follow this up. Jesus fuck this is a ride! It’s like if Dominator and Ihsahn put together a band. It’s like Nordjevel crossed with Hate Forest in this, a tour-de-force black metal LP that unabashedly delivers the brutality along with all the traditional fiendish evil vibes. Great name for a band, great album and even the cover art just screams “this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for in a black metal album all these years…” Okay, a lot of black metal album covers do that, but the point I’m trying to make is that The Blaze Of Abaddon is just choice nugget from top to bottom and a welcomed breath of fresh air for an as-of-late all over the place USBM scene. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Jeger on July 10, 2024.

The convoluted USBM scene - a movement that has struggled to find an identity outside of the old heads: Xasthur, Judas Iscariot and Nachtmystium. I would throw Inquisition in there but they’re on a level of their own. UADA? Wolves In The Throne Room? Hard pass, although I do hold a soft spot for the former, I’d hardly call what they do true black metal, but this! Just a few minutes into this thing and goosebumps. From out of the frigid Minneapolis / Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA area emerge Grand Demise Of Civilization and with them they’ve brought a little something called “Hell Metal”. Don’t worry it’s black metal… Only of a most profound variety. Real end of days-heralding shit here and set to ensnaring passages fraught with lulling dreamscapes that promise tranquility only to deliver you mercilessly into The Blaze Of Abaddon, released via Ordovician Records on June 4, 2024… 

When you truly bust the brakes off of black metal and dial the intensity and the creativity into the red, you get “hold my beer” records like The Blaze Of Abaddon where nothing is as it seems and everything you thought you knew about black metal goes out the window… Oh yeah, it’s one of those. It’s a fine line to walk when a collective decides to put forth a genuine effort to change the game like this. It still must be black metal and of course the truer the better. Doesn’t have to be crusty attic black metal but the energy must be right. In this case, like the culmination of decades worth of suffering boiling over into a frantic disembowelment-like series of fevered cuts like 'Cathedral Reaper' and 'Silencer' that see the band as they rip through the early 90’s worshipping fabric of the genre, all the while as they weave a much more elaborate sonic tapestry of their own. 

Ever listen to Helfró’s debut self-titled LP? Great stuff, complex and overwhelmingly dynamic. You’ll get those vibes here, but this thing is a much more elaborate production. Fucking nightmare fuel pumping along with all that cortisol sheer horror, but the suspense ride comes to a halt midway through as you absorb the awe-inspiring intro to 'Nephilm'. These are the kinds of arrangements that only elite musicians are capable of, and the entire record feels almost like some sort of grand theatrical black metal production or like the most badass black metal supergroup you could possibly put together recorded it. And still radiating all that evil energy just the way black metal is supposed to. 

Not much in the way of competition against this bunch. Wouldn’t want them opening for my band… Hate to have to try to follow this up. Jesus fuck this is a ride! It’s like if Dominator and Ihsahn put together a band. It’s like Nordjevel crossed with Hate Forest in this, a tour-de-force black metal LP that unabashedly delivers the brutality along with all the traditional fiendish evil vibes. Great name for a band, great album and even the cover art just screams “this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for in a black metal album all these years…” Okay, a lot of black metal album covers do that, but the point I’m trying to make is that The Blaze Of Abaddon is just choice nugget from top to bottom and a welcomed breath of fresh air for an as-of-late all over the place USBM scene. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Tobias on May 8, 2001.

For a band that touts stupid little slogans like "Play this at maximum volume or be a wimp" or "If you don’t enjoy this record, fuck off and die" on their CD sleeve, I would expect something either as powerful or terrifying as hell.

But that’s not what you get with In Aeternum’s The Pestilent Plague. In fact, if any band is so bold to write crap like that on their CD, you can bet your ass there’ll be people like me to shred those idiotic claims. To save time, I think I’ll just bullet point what these candyass dolts deliver:

• Almost laughable growls. This guy… or kid, I’m not quite sure… has his real voice bursting through the seams of his tired and mundane growling. Fire him.
• The guitar work sounds exactly the same across the board. It’s simple in a bad way and completely unimaginative. Go to hell.
• The lyrics are about the dumbest thing I’ve heard since Chinchilla’s Madness album. "Kill the Christians, kill them all!" and "I curse you all" are likely the high points… and that is pathetic. These numb-nuts should take a lesson from the 80’s cyberpunk Foetus who’s big track was The only Good Christian is a Dead Christian. Guess what, THEY BROKE UP and they were MORE IMAGINATIVE. Besides, didn’t every freaking death metal band in the 80’s already do that?
• Bass is drab, but what else would you expect from an album on which every song sounds the same.
• Drumming is completely uneventful and just seems to plod along with the rest of the losers.
• Everything about this band screams mediocrity. They want to be scary and they make me laugh. If they want to be frightening they should try taking a hint from Lamb of God.

This is the most mediocre and boring death metal I’ve heard in a long time… perhaps I wouldn’t be so hard on them if they weren’t conceited enough to actually print that truckload of chicken feces on the inside cover.

Bottom Line: These guys are the equivalent of a conceited film director that’s made nothing but low budget, not scary, B horror movies.

Rating: 3 of 10