Kaboom! That, the sound of the thunderous volcanic explosion that gives birth to the magnificent geode! As Martin Prince once said, he also urged that his geode must be acknowledged. Alas my love of the Simpsons should probably be reserved for another time. You’ll have gathered by the name of today’s review however that we’re looking into the early days of the earth, the Precambrian era to be exact. I’m surprised these subjects haven’t been tackled much in the past to be fair. I was obsessed with such eras in my youth, and if you ask me it’s pretty Metal.
So Precambrian is a Ukrainian trio of talented Black Metal musicians, members and ex members of influential bands such as Drudkh, Blood Of Kingu, Old Silver Key and Hate Forest to name but a few. As you’ll have gathered by the introductory paragraph the band seek their knowledge from a bygone time, having formed in 2014 the band have put out a slew of releases which have led to Tectonics, the bands 2020 debut full length. The album fittingly comes to us through Primitive Reaction but will be be fossilized dung or a new discovery?
The opening song Archaebacteria doesn’t hold back at all. You step out of your time machine and instantly a rush of Blackened borderline War Metal carnage envelopes you. Fast drums, dissonant riffs and hideously grim and frostbitten vocals. It’s a track every bit as metallic as it is drone worthy and atmospheric. It’s pretty obvious by the midpoint of Fossilization that if you don’t like repetitive, savage Raw Black Metal then you should probably just leave. Personally, I’m a fan, I particularly enjoy the lower more Death growled vocals which come at points. I wouldn’t say it’s strikingly different from a lot of other Black Metal of this nature but it’s strong.
Speaking of little to no difference Cryogenian provides no additional content, this is the kind of album I would whack on during a snowy Sunday afternoon with a dark beer in my hand whilst playing video games. Finally, the album closes with P-Tr. Extinction, as Volcanic Winter moves into this track we hear yet another disjointed transition, as if the prior song hasn’t actually finished, a recurring theme throughout. These abrupt closures are a bit stunting and for such an atonal album they should flow better. I digress however, our climactic song is yet another rumbling Blackened nightmare, with a sound like being trapped beneath glaciers for all eternity.
Do I like Tectonics? Yeah I guess I do. I enjoy the concept, I like the monotonous nature of Precambrian’s sound and I could see myself getting more and more into the band. That being said it’s very simplistic Black Metal with very little to offer other than that. There is a certain quality and charm to that notion as it’s a sound many Extreme Metal fans can instantly identify with, but it’s nothing new or special. I think the band could lean further into the primal sounds of the band’s ideology, thus making it more atmospheric. The best way one could describe this album is like soothing Extreme Metal, so if that sounds up your street then get involved.
(7/10 George Caley)
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