Black/Death Metal has never been short on bands willing to push things into increasingly barbaric and extreme territory. Cha’hom, however, has always taken that premise somewhere stranger. On their second full-length ‘Anthropic Rites of Sublimation’, the German cult offers a portal into the prehistoric realm through an esoteric and hypnotizing journey.
The album is a continuation of their unique sound, which is a concoction of ayahuasca-induced, mind-expanding wickedness steeped in indigenous and primordial sonic elements. However, this album feels a little more progressive in its song structures, as it has many unpredictable shifts that build upon one another with remarkable precision. Such a precision gives the songs a sense of compositional dexterity, even though they are inherently disorienting in nature.
Expect an amalgamation of cavernous riffs, Death Metal tremolo picking, varieties of blast-beats, and a possessing atmosphere that vividly evokes the imagery of charnels. References could be made to bands such as Volahn, Tzompantli, Teitanblood, Timeghoul and Obliteration, although Cha’hom’s particular combination of psychotropic, primitive and ritualistic style gives the band an identity of its own.
Overall, ‘Anthropic Rites of Sublimation’ has an exceptionally tight sound. The record maintains an impressive sense of cohesion even amid all the darkness and chaos it permeates.
