I am familiar with this band and their two previous albums prior to this EP, and can say from past experience that they leave no stone unturned. Both were hard, fast, menacing and punishing but in a way that as a listener it was impossible to avoid getting caught up in the death-black metal maelstrom. Compromise wasn’t in the vocabulary of these Turkish metallers previously and I couldn’t for a minute envisage that this situation was going to change.

The belligerent and defiant start of “Infernal Gateway to Watchers” draws immediate comparison with Marduk. Fire is breathed by the vocals while the instrumentalists present destruction and chaos. As with previous works, it’s not a direct path to violence. Persecutory manage the chaos well, slowing down and spreading the malevolence before upping the tempo and delivering a withering rhythm. A terrible scream announces “Ecstatic Demonlords”. A contemptuous, spiteful guitar line stands behind this tale of terror. Once again Persecutory know when to linger. “Gather the legions of chaos ushering the endless uprising” exhorts the hissing, echoing, angry vocalist. It’s like a call to war but there is a certain majesty by virtue of the haughty guitar tone which in the final outcome recalls death and tragedy. “Ecstatic Demonlords” is a well-rounded song. This three-track EP ends with the title song. It’s like a march to war and a celebration of “chthonic chaos”. Forceful, loud, musically colourful and bombastic but not in a self-indulgent way or running the risk of losing sight of the need to develop the song’s structure, it envelops us, slowing down only to expand and swallow us whole. Persecutory cleverly input menace as well as overwhelming us with extreme violence. The control they exercise is tight.

Although compromise is on not on the agenda, Persecutory understand how to tell a story and develop it, albeit in the blackest of ways. Yet again the band hit us hard with a powerful and multi-dimensional force of extreme metal.

(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/persecutory666

https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-glorious-persecution