This new extreme entity has a mission statement declaring their intent to “bring Black Metal back to its ideological and musical roots.” There is not that much info about those behind the oddly named band but apparently they helped shape the Norwegian and Italian black metal scene. Seemingly a duo going by the monikers Fuoco Cammina Con Me and Noktifer we can possibly assume that as far as the former is concerned, they are a fan of Twin Peaks (name translates to Fire Walk With Me) and possibly early Aborym. The music suggests a link with said Italians too being a caustic, heaving, industrialised, multi-layered tumult that pretty much leaves the listener’s head reeling after exposure to their debut album.
With orthodoxy at its heart ‘The Flame’ lights the fire and sets about scorching the earth with a ferocity that is hardly tempered throughout the duration. One is reminded of everything from Mayhem to Mysticum here and emphasis is quickly placed on the vocals and jackhammer approach of the brute percussive force. The carnage isn’t exactly tuneful and everything is mangled in a wreckage of destruction. As for the vocals their approach is dictatorial and haranguing, barking out commands and offering little in the way of escape from their forceful delivery. ‘The Crossed Bones’ has a doom laden melody at first with a scuzzy guitar buzz before gradually speeding up tempered by hymnal chanting. The whole thing sounds pretty damn evil and malevolent but the one word that I keep coming back to here is “nasty.” This really is an unpleasant listening experience; not that I am saying this in a bad way.
Those who hate the common masses and avoid them will take heart from all this and the absolute battering delivered by ‘Odi Profanum Vulgus et Arceo.’ Humanity is very much the scourge and making music like this is meant to unsettle all but the most misanthropic examples of our species. Nothing short of total destruction is proffered here and when not going full pelt as on ‘The Sickle’ there’s still a claustrophobic sense of dread with the vocals gnawing away at you, jaws locked on and refusing to let go. A well placed sample amidst this is intriguing as well but not so, the lengthy one at start of ‘Abyssal Season.’ Relying on classical music to add atmosphere is nothing new and there’s no denying that Symphonie Fantastique Op. 14 – 5. ‘Songe d’une nuit du Sabbat’(Berlioz) is a hugely evocative piece of music but I can’t help feeling it’s a bit of a cheat utilising it here. Perhaps I’m being a little picky but was it really necessary and should our players have simply gone with the convictions, might and vociferous fury of their own music with this already formidable number? 11-minute finale ‘The Skull’ uses a stealthy approach to slowly chip away at the cranium and turn the inner organ to mush. Peeling off the layers it all dissolves into a soundscape of noise and distortion until almost welcome silence comes as nothing short of a relief, leaving you almost congratulating yourself on having made it to the end.
An embittered and ruinous album, if that was the intention Hammerfilosofi set out to create nobody can deny them achieving just that.
(7/10 Pete Woods)
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