Teitanblood – From the Visceral Abyss

As Metal is saturated with an endless amount of bands releasing output just to get their name out there, few can brag about cementing a long-standing legacy in the underground the way Teitanblood has. Over the past 20 years, the band has produced a steady stream of veritable releases that are worth recapping here. Their origins were quite humble, starting as a simple homage to the early Death/Black works of bands such as Von, Demoncy and Beherit; but this gave way to a much larger and elaborate output in the form of ‘Seven Chalices’ – an album that elevated their craft into something more grandiose and fleshed out both musically and aesthetically.

This is what in my mind really marked the birth of the band’s identity, who built upon that with ‘Death’, an album that was meant to be hostile to any listener with its inexorable aggression. This is turn gave way to ‘The Baneful Choir’, a solid effort that introduced new members into the fold. Yet it is with this new release, ‘From the Visceral Abyss’ that Teitanblood have once again produced an album that will no doubt reverberate for many years to come.

If you are not familiar with Teitanblood’s output, the best way to describe their sound is through a quote from the musical mastermind behind the band, NSK: ‘The point where Death Metal and Black Metal were not differenced’. The heavily distorted riffs feel like they are played within a cavernous abyss of which there is no escape, randomly bursting into violent whammy bar solos that assault you. Similarly, NSK’s vocals are also drenched in the mix, giving the impression of a demonic voice whose lines seem to emanate from a coffin. He does not just limit it to growls, but also more slower, almost whispered sections where you can make out some of the foul lyrics. The drums are loud and ruthless, pummeling us into submission until you are no longer fit to serve. At times, the band lets up and allows for a moment of respite in the form of slower passages that are punctured with the excellent ambient effects of CG Santos. Another commendable aspect of this album is the production which is very crisp for this type of Metal (and even compared to their previous albums) but not sounding overproduced – instead breathing full life into all the member’s contributions.

What has made Teitanblood such a mainstay in the scene is their ability to weave these elements to make something that pushes the boundaries of the genre with their unconventional song structures and channeling into what is a ritual of pure darkness. What feels distinct about this record compared to ‘The Baneful Choir’ is this return to unpredictability while retaining the general atmosphere of a maelstrom.

As I mentioned previously, that release was a robust effort but felt more of a conventional Death Metal album compared to what had preceded it. Part of this reason may be that the two new members who had joined at the time – the aforementioned CG Santos and guitarist Javi Santos had still not managed to perfect their contributions in the way they have here. The biggest examples of this are the inclusions of more melodic guitar solos and passages that appear from time to time (the solo in ‘Strangling Vision’ is simple yet haunting). Far from detracting from the visceral nature of the music, it really gives a new layer of dynamism to the general onslaught. Correspondingly, Santos’s work in the background helps the album retain an otherworldly and nightmarish atmosphere, really showing all its splendor in the colossal finisher ‘Tomb Corpse Haruspex’ – the inclusion of the Penderecki sample in its final moments (which is what opened Seven Chalices) not only feels like an apt closer to the album, but the completion of a cycle.

It’s difficult to re-invent the wheel and sound fresh over a period of 20 years, but Teitanblood are no ordinary band and have proven to do so with ‘From the Visceral Abyss’. Despite the turmoil and fury on display, you can feel the ardor and dedication that has gone within each note on this album – nothing is a product of chance and accident. I really recommend not just listening to this digitally, but also purchasing the physical copy of it and entrancing yourself with the booklet done by the fine work of David Glomba, who is a worthy successor to Teitanblood’s original artistic visionary Timo Ketola (RIP). As every Teitanblood insert says: ‘LISTEN IN DARKNESS AT MAXIMUM VOLUME ONLY’. (Dzor)

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Comfort is one of the most abused drugs in existence. Give a person a place, snacks and unlimited amount of wi-fi (and in way too many cases, booze)… and their brain will soon start rotting away until they will ruin their own life to the point they believed it was before they were given the accommodation… and with it the lives of everyone who ever cared about them. Comfort is where dreams and aspirations go to die.

We all need some comfort, but should remain aware things will become stagnant if we don’t move out of it. While feeling uncomfortable is not one of the popular feelings in existence, it belongs in our life and if before mentioned booze hadn’t already destroyed our critical thinking, we  will learn from every unpleasant, uncomfortable experience. And that’s exactly why some of us love the darkest, most violent takes on music. Walking the thin line between comfort and discomfort with what you’re stuffing into your ears, is an experience… and a damn remember-able one.

The new Teitanblood’s offering is one of those as it is almost impossible to describe how quickly the pleasant tones get blurred into something scary. As this is the bands fourth full length (and an 11th release overall), some of us already became familiar with their sound and we believed we knew what to expect. And this is exactly what we (okay, I) expected and at the same time it’s still completely different. The bands chaotic sound has found the winning formula (which works for them) in effortlessly shifting between black and death metal elements to create a giant mass of slime rolling down the steep hill, sucking into just about anything it encounters on the way. The sound is thickly layered, creating an impenetrable capsule around you and the abyssal vocals and a couple of samples which belong in horror movies just create the illusion that there is hope of you ever getting out of this devouring horror which started out as a pleasant music to your ears.

Once things start to move, it becomes difficult to stop them and they will snowball into an unstoppable force crushing everything in front of it. Now, if you fight it, you’ll definitely lose the battle and you’ll disappear forever. So, go with it, move with it and it will protect you… and you won’t become stagnant. It might not be comfortable at first (as I’ve noticed most metalheads are struggling with a mere idea of a chance – from changing the light bulb to turning on their own light bulb signifying they actually have a reasonable idea on), but it will do wonders for you… and you’ll grow beyond yourself, conquering new frontiers you previously had no idea even existed. Just like Teitanblood through their over two decades of existence. And they’re not even done yet. (Black Mary)