Finnish flag-bearers Barathrum are certainly distinguished peers having been around since way back in 1991. Under the tutelage of founding member Demonos Sova they have been consistently knocking out a doomy take on blackness which has seen a vast array of characters coming through their doors. Some have also been active in other great bands from the Finnish scene such as Impaled Nazarene, Fintroll & Moonsorrow but Barathrum have never really got the attention and some may feel have been a bit left behind as they have stuck to guns and notched up a large amount of releases through the decades. Überkill is their tenth album and follows up from Fanatiko of 2017.
As ever the quintet come armed with the quirk of having two bass guitarists in their ranks and the heft and weight is noticeable from the off as play is pressed and the sound churns and rumbles out the speakers. Immediately doom laden, ‘Death By Steel’ takes a while to get going and as the title suggests has a bit of a true metal sound about it. Somewhat lacking in energy however it’s no anthem but a right old plodder and one is left hoping it’s just a precursor to something with more propulsion. Bouncy and brackish, the simplistic beat of ‘Mountain Of Bones’ follows. Its basic and formulaic musically but the realisation hits that Demonos Sova’s vocals are akin to a demented necro-goblin which at least gives some focus even if the listener is not sure just how seriously they should be taking things. At least the band seem to be having fun but for me things are getting a little too close to being ludicrous. What on earth is a song called ‘Spark Plugs of Purgatory’ all about? The van breaking down on the way to a show perhaps? Well as the music lurches down the road I am thankful for a thrashy burst and at least this song has a bit of balls about it
From there we get a collection of songs that sound like “music by numbers” class 101. Between 3-4 minutes each the likes of ‘Black Metal Rites’ gets toes tapping before the leaden crawl of ‘Ritual Murder’ moves into a messy stabbing frenzy and back to slow creepy crawl sounding like a band at the beginning of their career rather than one with well over three decades to their name. Perhaps that’s the point though and maybe this appeals to those who have undertaken following them through their career rather than someone dipping back in again. There’s a feeling of warts and all about the album and when the band do extend themselves to a lengthier number ‘Dark Sorceress,’ I’m afraid my endurance levels have hit the limit. Just to confound even further we then get the title track at the end and much to my surprise we are almost saved by the umlaut. After the obligatory tedious start it gives out some speed metal chops in the last damn minute and at least provides a rousing finale. Unfortunately, it’s a case of too little too late for me though. Meh…
(4/10 Pete Woods)
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