Review by Carl on September 17, 2024.

For me personally, black metal goes down best when it's fast, raw, and, well, just nuts. Don't get me wrong, I like the more elaborate (mostly 90's) bands just as good, but you can't shake that crazy underground feel that the rougher, more unhinged bands exude. And when it comes to raw and unhinged, there's no denying Bahimiron, for sure.

Presented in a rough sound production completely devoid of any digital frills, the band charges through a duo of tracks that fuses blast beat-driven, tremolo-picked rage with the usual croaking black metal screams, only occasionally taking the foot off the gas pedal to let a pounding midtempo section seep in. These usually don't last long, only momentarily breaking up the high velocity before going straight back into another bout of seething fury. Bahimiron does not deviate a whole lot from the template set out by Scandinavian acts like early 90's Immortal and Marduk, black metal period Bathory, "Deathcrush" era Mayhem, Darkthrone, and a hungover Dark Funeral after skipping a couple of showers. Inject some nods to Archgoat and early Beherit in there, and that could perhaps describe best the noxious concoction brewing here. It's raw, aggressive and certainly ugly, both music and sound mix, which is the best way no-frills underground black metal ought to be presented in my opinion.

Bahimiron shows here that creating menacing and truly evil-sounding black metal doesn't need to be complicated. This EP does not move any goalposts or re-evaluates the genre in far-fetched ways, but simply keeps proceedings raw and energetic in its delivery, to great effect. This is a competent blast of underground delight, nothing more, and certainly nothing less.

Rating: 8 out of 10