Those of you that follow the underground death metal scenes of various countries probably know that this Portuguese act was originally called Summon and whilst there aren’t that many acts with this moniker Blasphemous Fire is certainly more memorable even if it is longer, plus it sounds far more evil than just Summon. As a debut under this band name they continue more or less where Summon left off with hideous gruesome death metal scuttling around in the bowels of hell. Their religious iconoclastic stance is pretty obvious judging by the titles and album art as the nine sonic abominations wreak havoc. You’ve only to read the lyrics to get a sense of just how disturbing and utterly monstrous this album is, its flow of barbarity melded to technical bludgeoning is not easy to craft but the band has done a fine job indeed.

Kicking off with ‘The Eclipse And Birth’ the dramatic doom-death toning allows the song to evolve with ever increasing terror, bolstered by the dense opaque production that has that low treble suffocation this kind of death metal benefits from. At times the song plunges into cavernous low end lunges peppered with blasted segments as the opener offers a crawling and slithering style that creeps with unbounded horror. Likewise with the follower, ‘Heavenly Bodies’, where a sinister aura masks an oppressive choking style I particularly liked about this release. Added to that you get an occult feathering to the songs too, not the kind where you get chants etc. but just the way it seems to hold you in its grasp forcing you to abide by its sickening devastation.

All the songs have a similar style as the shorter ‘Pleasure Of Suffering’ provides some eerie posturing before the speed increase with vocals that are truly inhuman, possessing an innate pervading sense of primal savagery that courses through like a toxin. Creepy and menacing ‘The Torture Of Being’ has a ritualistic ethos as the song title foreshadows the torment and horror that flows from within its five minutes of diseased dissonance. Whilst the bulk of this album resides firmly in the brutal blackened death genre there are subtleties, tempering the songs with an ethereal ethos courtesy of the fine guitar work.

Blasting in is ‘The Pale Colors’ a pick from the album for me, as again the use of creepiness infects the songs savagery where the sporadic blasting provides plenty of ammunition for the guitar riffs to whip across. Slightly longer and more atmospheric is ‘Allowed Wishes’, a very unassuming title for a track that situates itself within the doom-death genre as the ultra-slow pacing has a funereal quality with a gradual escalation in tension and ever increasing intensity through its near seven minutes of punishing prowess.

‘The First Victim’ continues the slow styling as the slow double bass feels like an eruption that is about to take place beneath you, its insidious dread filled tone permeates through with virulence. The same applies to penultimate monstrosity ‘Compulsion Of The Hand That Kills’ where eerie noises are backed by an isolated guitar section that blends into the body of the song by feathering it with what I’d label as a whisper effect via the guitar work, it is supremely creepy. Closing the album is ‘Those Who Die Dwell In Me’ and where you would expect something maybe a little more experimental this band prefers a complete demolition, where the songs dense cloying style is hooked into high momentum and grisly guitar work.

Few albums emerge with such execrableness as ‘Beneath The Darkness’, the intrinsic aural atrocity it casts forth is nothing short of Armageddon and whilst it is tempting to name comparative acts for reference I have stayed away from such because Blasphemous Fire are their own heinous entity.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/Summondeath

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/beneath-the-darkness