Although they have plenty of releases to their name and have been going since 2003, I’m a recent advocate of the Spanish cult of Balmog. Very impressed with last album Vacvvm and one-track EP Pillars Of Salt I had them tagged as playing a style of orthodox black and death metal. Apparently though after several albums in this vein they have decided to expand upon things and develop and “recreate the horror that rock music has built from.” Disparate elements from Floyd to King Crimson, Sisters Of Mercy and Danzig are cited by them on this stylistic side shift and I have to admit some of these have left me scratching my head a little on listening to Eve, an album that in itself as “a vigil to human terror understood as the ability of human beings to create suffering in opposition of divine creation.” Seriously you don’t need to get too bogged down in this as there is no really huge noticeable change throughout the nine tracks on offer here and if you like the previous couple of releases, you won’t be disappointed too much by any very subtle changes in the group’s modus-operandi.
After a moody instrumental opener ‘Birth Of Feral’ romps away in dynamic fashion with thorny Swedish sounding guitar licks and groovy gravitas that cites the likes of Dissection, Watain and early Tribulation. I guess there’s a bit of an Eldritch growl from Balc’s vocals but that orthodox vibe is to me the defining presence highlighted when he cleanly snarls, vocals rising in clean authoritarian fashion. If you are looking for authenticity you should expect plenty of it and it should be noted that the group has a member of Teitanblood and many other cult underground acts in their ranks. Tracks like ‘Senreira’ have a great sense of atmosphere going towards a dark metal gothic direction and it is the likes of Secrets Of The Moon and even Moonspell that I am hearing here. Some excellent hooks from the twin guitars draw you in and the raging hunger behind the music takes a good fleshy bite out the listener. I guess there is a little psychedelia here such as on ‘Slander’ and it wouldn’t particularly be out of place mentioning Pink Floyd as a reference point. The music also flows really well from one track to the next without anything noticeable in the way of breaks. We do get one at the half way mark though in the form of instrumental ‘Agnus Dei’ and for me that is a bit of a stumbling block. Not only does it break up the power and flow of things but it comes in two parts, a symphonic keyboard / dungeon synth like style which is intriguing but it layers a circular sounding siren like tone over the top which frankly becomes a tad annoying and distracts from the atmosphere.
Still, it is not too long before we are back on track with ‘Desacougo’ ironically dispelling this ‘uneasiness’ and once more hammering away, the guitars unleashing more barbed hooks and reeling us in once more. There are some great Gothic shards from that department too glistening away and unveiling more breadth and depth. I’m not sure if the voice behind it is sampled from something but at least they haven’t gone for the temptation of using Aleister Crowley as so many would in a position like this. After having already given us two instrumentals, we get another ‘Zohar’, or at least one that bar some growling that is 95% so. Rest assured though it’s dynamic and explosive this time round, kicking butt and powering away, demanding neck snapping participation every step of the way. With the slithering tentacles of ‘Carrion Heart’ to contend with I am changing my mind a bit and seeing the touch of some of the group’s comparisons and understanding a bit more of where they are coming from. Still, those who previously liked the band won’t find anything perplexing as they are certainly not going in a new direction entirely here and the feelings of orthodoxy are still strong and suitably extreme.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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