During the 30 years plus of listening to black metal and all its subsequent subgenres I can honestly say I’ve been subjected to some of the most extreme music that has ever been constructed. In retrospect some of the very early black metal incarnations that spearheaded the genre’s formation in the late 80s and early 90s are relatively sedate compared to the outpouring of scorn that their modern contemporaries currently release. Indeed acts like Archgoat, Weregoat, Sargeist, Sinmara, Svartidauði and Misþyrming to name a bunch of bands in the modern era are some of the most hostile black metal acts you’ll ever listen to, and you can add Spain’s Cryfemal to that list with considerable ease. I’ve been honoured to have reviewed this Spanish bands last two albums, both of which scored extremely highly, though not quite achieving the exalted perfect score but very close, especially with the bands last album ‘Eterna Oscuridad’. For some reason this ninth album has only just turned up at Ave Noctum HQ though it was released by Immortal Frost in October 2023 and though I did listen to it back then it didn’t quite make as much of an impact as it has on subsequent listens recently, probably down to cramming as much as I could into the last few weeks of the year before I did my end of year listings that I always do once November is upon me.

The evolution of Cryfemal from the raw primal black metal of early releases to the more hybridized blackened death metal nihilism of more recent releases is easy to hear when you go through their discography. It is an evolution of how to write the most hostile aggressive music yet retain tons of melody within every song that has been written, something I have written about in my previous reviews of the bands work. What is also unique about Cryfemal is the tuning of the guitar work which I hadn’t really thought about in previous reviews and only came to mind during this latest album, though the previous two have a similar sound overall. That tuning on the guitar sends the songs into death metal territory but with black metal riffs as the band has been careful to make sure everything has clarity in the mix.

If my translation of the album title is correct it pretty much sums up what this ninth album is wholly about, ‘The Great Victory Of Evil’, which I hope is correct, but apologise if my interpretation is erroneous. From the moment this album starts to last few seconds of its 30 minutes duration you are subjected to some of the most heinous, vitriolic and outright violent music you will ever hear, not just this year but possibly in the last decade. Ebola, who plays all the instruments except the drums, has taken his vision a step further, ably assisted by new drummer Guayota, who is also a member of Spain’s Muert. ‘Necrocaina’ kicks the album off and far from any intro sequence being deployed to wean you in, it absolutely smashes in with a violence and ferocity that is unimaginably devastating. The blasting is potentially as fast you can possibly get without it blurring in cacophonic realms. Indeed the production is the best the band has had to date, it has that intrinsic malevolence black metal requires as the opener has that nihilistic quality Cryfemal has always had, only here the resulting dissonance is tenfold more extreme.

‘Mal Inmortal’ continues the onslaught after a very short intro piece of thunder where the drum fill work affords the song a build-up style right before the detonation of blasting fury. In places this song reminded me of France’s Autokrator due to its veritable noise assault that threatens to plunge the tune into a dissonant quagmire but always retains an aura of melody crafted by the guitar work. There is no time to breathe as ‘Escencia Del Caos’ is next and far from relenting to any degree, the song seems to intensify the album even further with explosive blasts and utterly bombarding wrath. Added to the mix are some atmospheric elements that are very subtly done, sort of like delicate keyboard adornments that make you think you’re hearing things, but you are not as the effects weave a nightmarish terror into the songs already enraging perniciousness.

‘Manten La Furia Fuera’ slows down very marginally initially, as Ebola’s acerbic and truly sulfuric vocals are throat ripping in the most extreme, his banshee like screeches conjuring terrifying imagery as the song escalates in tension and speed cohesively towards a relentless barrage that also threatens to hurtle into chaotic oblivion. Initially ‘Noctambulismo’ is similar to the preceding four tunes but after a short sequence it switches slightly to a brief but effective slower phase as the vocals also take plunge in tone with some added disembowelling bellows very subtly ingrained into the mix alongside the horrifying screams.

I did like the opening to ‘Despide El Ser’ it has that pervading sense of dread the band has always had but here it gives the song a foundation on which to layer on ever increasing intensity with each passing second. The hideous menace here is palpable, unerring sonic horror that shows no abating in velocity as the vocals also twist and contort around various tonal barbarity. A full blow annihilation greets you on ‘Fuerza Sepulcral’, it is entirely battering and close to what some of you may call war metal, such is its unassailable apocalyptic Armageddon that continues into the closer ‘Muerte Adversaria’. I love the start to the closer, it has a very melodic riff that is punctuated by the drum work before the expected onslaught prevails. Far from easing up the song is one of the most intense on the album but is inherently melodic too as that atmospheric aura also rears up marginally. As it progresses that sense of nihilism is prevalent to a degree that you can feel the album careering to its catastrophic conclusion ensuring that Cryfemal has written one of the most aggressive, inhuman, savage and truly feral albums in black metal of the last decade, as I wonder where Ebola will go next on his tenth album when it comes out because this is as perfect a black metal release as you’re ever likely to hear if you want your face ripping off.

(10/10 Martin Harris)

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https://immortalfrostproductions1.bandcamp.com/album/la-gran-victoria-del-mal