Kommando Baphomet is a Portuguese War Metal two piece, ‘Under the Deathsign’ being the follow up to their 2019 debut album ‘Blood Gospels of Satanic Inquisition’.
The album is incredible quality modern war metal, utilising better production to increase the heaviness of the album, while remaining true to the sound fans expect from the genre. Both members provide vocals, heavily reverb laden growls, really guttural and nasty, with some tasteful higher snarls thrown in the mix as well. The duelling vocals are done really well, the band never draws too much attention to the fact that there are two vocalists, just allowing them to work in tandem with each other.
As with other War Metal acts, the drums take centre stage, allowing the pummelling blast beats to lead the music. The guitars are slightly further back in the mix, but they don’t fall into the trap of sounding thin or muted like other bands that rely heavily on percussion. The rhythmic instruments are still thick, heavy and audible.
The release is mostly fast paced as would be expected, however the band isn’t afraid to be dynamic, the track ‘Encarnaçao Divina’ features extended doomy and atmospheric sections, showcasing the unsettling and ritualistic atmosphere that the band revels in.
