Review by Alex on April 15, 2020.

If you can deliver on a debut that falls in line with the cavernous side of black/death metal and also hint at Antediluvian, then you've got my attention. Middle eastern sect Har has written a promise of damnation on their demo Anti Shechinah recorded live I believe? Impressive occult black/death metal from the 'holy' land of Israel, I know they have quite a few bands there, but I was not expecting an extreme metal piece this sort to come from the region. Har has 2 EPs before Anti Shechinah (demo) which I haven't heard yet, but if my suspicions are correct about them being more of the mastery I heard on Anti Shechinah, then I'll have to pay them a visit.

I mentioned Antediluvian earlier, I think it's the artwork that has me drawing the similarity to that of their split EP with Adversarial; though musically I could detect some sort of affair going on with "Through the Cervix of Hawaah" particularly on 'Bor'. Compacting the space of 4 minutes with rapid fireworks of semi-technicality and groove amidst some tearing guitar licks and tricky cymbal+tom drumming, you have to wonder why the band has not by now been uttered a bit loudly in the under-belly of metal. I'd agree that indeed its quite a competitive arena, but Har has clearly shown (at least with this demo) that they have the tools and the proficiency to engage in battle at any level of the sub-genre.

On the production side of things, I can't complain, and why would I, this is the type of sonic texture that works best in this metal terrain. Abrasive, ugly and chaotic despite being able to identify the cymbal and snare work below the raving guitars and howling. As far as atmosphere is concerned, there is not a lot of that, which is a bit of a letdown as I believe this could have benefited from some type of ambiance. Still Anti Shechinah is a classy 3-legged sprint through a diabolical obstacle course; that once witnessed will have listeners craving more.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on April 15, 2020.

If you can deliver on a debut that falls in line with the cavernous side of black/death metal and also hint at Antediluvian, then you've got my attention. Middle eastern sect Har has written a promise of damnation on their demo Anti Shechinah recorded live I believe? Impressive occult black/death metal from the 'holy' land of Israel, I know they have quite a few bands there, but I was not expecting an extreme metal piece this sort to come from the region. Har has 2 EPs before Anti Shechinah (demo) which I haven't heard yet, but if my suspicions are correct about them being more of the mastery I heard on Anti Shechinah, then I'll have to pay them a visit.

I mentioned Antediluvian earlier, I think it's the artwork that has me drawing the similarity to that of their split EP with Adversarial; though musically I could detect some sort of affair going on with "Through the Cervix of Hawaah" particularly on 'Bor'. Compacting the space of 4 minutes with rapid fireworks of semi-technicality and groove amidst some tearing guitar licks and tricky cymbal+tom drumming, you have to wonder why the band has not by now been uttered a bit loudly in the under-belly of metal. I'd agree that indeed its quite a competitive arena, but Har has clearly shown (at least with this demo) that they have the tools and the proficiency to engage in battle at any level of the sub-genre.

On the production side of things, I can't complain, and why would I, this is the type of sonic texture that works best in this metal terrain. Abrasive, ugly and chaotic despite being able to identify the cymbal and snare work below the raving guitars and howling. As far as atmosphere is concerned, there is not a lot of that, which is a bit of a letdown as I believe this could have benefited from some type of ambiance. Still Anti Shechinah is a classy 3-legged sprint through a diabolical obstacle course; that once witnessed will have listeners craving more.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Carl on September 24, 2023.

What we have here is a compilation of early material by the influential proto death/black metal band Necrophagia. They played in the same league with other numbskulls such as Slaughter (CAN), NME, Messiah and early Bathory (to namecheck a few), and had a good part in helping spawn that vile abomination called extreme metal. Are we glad they did? Fuck yeah, we are!!

Going into this with the knowledge that these are early recordings from an act that isn't really known for subtle nuance or accessability, you simply know that this is gonna be pretty harsh stuff. Stuff that's well-suited to alienate those acquaintances you don't really like or to break up your stiff neighbors' garden party that you weren't invited to. It's rough sounding (though not unlistenable), brash, filth-encrusted and chaotic, and guaranteed to send anyone into more polished styles of music into a stupor, and that's how we like our early death/thrash/black metal!

You could compare Killjoy and his band of merry men to acts such as the ones already mentioned, but bands like "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Black Shepherd, Minotaur and the old stuff by Voivod, Sodom and Sepultura, are pretty good reference points as well. The guitar riffing and battering percussion are simple, raw and to the point, providing a more than fitting backdrop for the vomitous vocals of Killjoy, sputtering and blubbering forth all kinds of splatter inspired tales of rot. The music is played primarily at fast velocity, but there is room for some slower sections and shredding guitar lead work too. The whole package is brought with a copious dose of hardcore punk-fueled energy, and it does not fail to drive home the point. That point being the one at the end of a nine inch nail about to be driven through your cranium.

The sound quality is, as stated earlier, on the raw and underground side of things. At times it can get kinda chaotic, and the instruments do overpower each other here and there, but this is simply the kind of stuff that flourishes under these conditions. Slick production values would neuter this kind of music, and we both know that if you're reading this, you don't care all that much about pretty and polished music anyway, right?

This is a cool compilation of early stuff of a great band. It's a sweet snapshot of an exciting and special time in underground extremity, and this stuff deserves all the love it gets as far as I'm concerned.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Carl on September 24, 2023.

What we have here is a compilation of early material by the influential proto death/black metal band Necrophagia. They played in the same league with other numbskulls such as Slaughter (CAN), NME, Messiah and early Bathory (to namecheck a few), and had a good part in helping spawn that vile abomination called extreme metal. Are we glad they did? Fuck yeah, we are!!

Going into this with the knowledge that these are early recordings from an act that isn't really known for subtle nuance or accessability, you simply know that this is gonna be pretty harsh stuff. Stuff that's well-suited to alienate those acquaintances you don't really like or to break up your stiff neighbors' garden party that you weren't invited to. It's rough sounding (though not unlistenable), brash, filth-encrusted and chaotic, and guaranteed to send anyone into more polished styles of music into a stupor, and that's how we like our early death/thrash/black metal!

You could compare Killjoy and his band of merry men to acts such as the ones already mentioned, but bands like "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Black Shepherd, Minotaur and the old stuff by Voivod, Sodom and Sepultura, are pretty good reference points as well. The guitar riffing and battering percussion are simple, raw and to the point, providing a more than fitting backdrop for the vomitous vocals of Killjoy, sputtering and blubbering forth all kinds of splatter inspired tales of rot. The music is played primarily at fast velocity, but there is room for some slower sections and shredding guitar lead work too. The whole package is brought with a copious dose of hardcore punk-fueled energy, and it does not fail to drive home the point. That point being the one at the end of a nine inch nail about to be driven through your cranium.

The sound quality is, as stated earlier, on the raw and underground side of things. At times it can get kinda chaotic, and the instruments do overpower each other here and there, but this is simply the kind of stuff that flourishes under these conditions. Slick production values would neuter this kind of music, and we both know that if you're reading this, you don't care all that much about pretty and polished music anyway, right?

This is a cool compilation of early stuff of a great band. It's a sweet snapshot of an exciting and special time in underground extremity, and this stuff deserves all the love it gets as far as I'm concerned.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Carl on September 24, 2023.

What we have here is a compilation of early material by the influential proto death/black metal band Necrophagia. They played in the same league with other numbskulls such as Slaughter (CAN), NME, Messiah and early Bathory (to namecheck a few), and had a good part in helping spawn that vile abomination called extreme metal. Are we glad they did? Fuck yeah, we are!!

Going into this with the knowledge that these are early recordings from an act that isn't really known for subtle nuance or accessability, you simply know that this is gonna be pretty harsh stuff. Stuff that's well-suited to alienate those acquaintances you don't really like or to break up your stiff neighbors' garden party that you weren't invited to. It's rough sounding (though not unlistenable), brash, filth-encrusted and chaotic, and guaranteed to send anyone into more polished styles of music into a stupor, and that's how we like our early death/thrash/black metal!

You could compare Killjoy and his band of merry men to acts such as the ones already mentioned, but bands like "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Black Shepherd, Minotaur and the old stuff by Voivod, Sodom and Sepultura, are pretty good reference points as well. The guitar riffing and battering percussion are simple, raw and to the point, providing a more than fitting backdrop for the vomitous vocals of Killjoy, sputtering and blubbering forth all kinds of splatter inspired tales of rot. The music is played primarily at fast velocity, but there is room for some slower sections and shredding guitar lead work too. The whole package is brought with a copious dose of hardcore punk-fueled energy, and it does not fail to drive home the point. That point being the one at the end of a nine inch nail about to be driven through your cranium.

The sound quality is, as stated earlier, on the raw and underground side of things. At times it can get kinda chaotic, and the instruments do overpower each other here and there, but this is simply the kind of stuff that flourishes under these conditions. Slick production values would neuter this kind of music, and we both know that if you're reading this, you don't care all that much about pretty and polished music anyway, right?

This is a cool compilation of early stuff of a great band. It's a sweet snapshot of an exciting and special time in underground extremity, and this stuff deserves all the love it gets as far as I'm concerned.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10