The tracks on this EP were originally released as one half of a split with Ugluk but are now unleashed by Black Devastation Records in a stand-alone capacity. Four cuts of raw Black Metal, running just short of 19 minutes, available on prefessional CDr, limited to 500 copies – how could you go wrong? Answer: you can’t.
For me, the main point of interest here is the fact that Black Devastation Records is fronted by the omnipresent, multi-talented Molestor Taaken, who playes guitar, bass and drums in Barastir and is also synonymous with other notable underground Black Metal acts like Aske, Odal, Erhabenheit and Wolfsschrei to name just a select four. This knowledge adds to the appeal of Barastir, whose line-up is completed on this recording by merciless vocalist Skoll.
These four songs are spiteful in the extreme, spilling over with vengeance and replete with more vitriol and anger than most world leaders manage to muster when their nations are at war. The much-maligned JC and his pitiful sheep are the main targets of attacks like the scornful, sweeping ‘Dead Christ’ and the way punkier ‘Christ Scum’, while there’s a strong sense of pride coursing through the more anthemic title track and the powerful ‘Built To Last Forever’.
Barastir also produced their debut full-length “Battlehymns of Hate” earlier this year. That onslaught is an equally superb representation of the nastiness of the new breed of raw German Black Metal with no frills, just hate and integrity.
