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Plague God- New Veins for Old Blood

plague god- new veins for old blood

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Czechia’s Plague God’s debut ‘New Veins for Old Blood’ is rather special as it seems to be one of the last recordings featuring former Amon vocalist Dr. Fé who passed on April 20th, 2023. Like much of his 80/ 90s work, the band captures that early spirit of the 90s Black Metal with sounds akin to the likes of Darkthrone and also Satyricon. The music is raw, but not overly skin scraping raw, and features a few atmospheric touches to mix things up, such as the haunting Omen-esque ‘Intro.’ Guitars, drums, and bass along with extra vocals and samples are all provided by Armo who is also known for the Death Metal band Screams of Lobotomy, but shows he is equally versed in Black Metal with this particular album. Tracks like ‘Charlatan Healer’ are vicious but even these kind of have that Satyricon Black n’ Roll vibe to them, especially with some of the riffs (though much less wintery and acoustic) that carry that spirit of ‘Dark Medieval Times.’ Vocals are croaked and snarled and come across more Immortal like, but still have that evil Darkthrone hiss to them at times. ‘Book of Books’ follows a very similar pace with backing keyboards- again very Satyricon driven- and includes some fitting samples. Here though the vocals are more prominent as the drums are a bit pushed back during some sections to let Dr. Fé and Armo work their magic with the other instruments.

There are a few surprises like the acoustic driven ‘Intermezzo’ which is purely there for atmosphere like the intro. It is a bit less sinister, but foreboding nonetheless. ‘Vikings’ is the true surprise as Plague God throw something out of left field and offer a slow to mid paced thumping melodic piece that is far from the firestorm of riffs and vocal delivery that listeners have heard so far. The vocals are still ugly, but the slower pace one can appreciate them more, much like how a slower Marduk track really gives way to Arioch’s vocals. While there are no Viking chants here, the riffs are certainly melodic enough and give respite from the raw, razor sharp yet groove laden riffs that populate a track like ‘Bloodbath.’ Of course, Plague God would not be complete without the Darkthrone cover to pay homage to one of the bands they emulate, in both title layout and corpsepaint and battle jacket setup. Compared to the original it isn’t really any different save for maybe a difference in production, but it still sounds very much like the way Plague God should even if it is not an original. Overall the album will feel like it goes fast, but those looking for more of a 90s style Black Metal that isn’t a total blaze of Anti-Christian fury like that of a Gorgoroth album will find that Plague God is still blasphemous fun while embodying that raw, terrifying spirit of how evil a non-overly symphonic band can be.

Plague God

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