Review by Felix on January 2, 2020.

Roughly 60 years ago, Germans loved to visit Italy. After this tiny unconditional surrender, the Wirtschaftswunder had its first effects and so it was time to conquer other countries without having a machine gun under the arm. New experience! Sunny Italy was the first choice, but I bet that my ancestors would have selected another destination, if Violentor would have been already active. Their sound has nothing in common with a sun-drenched holiday.

Do you know at least one album of Violentor? Okay, good news, then you know them all. But bad news as well, you are missing some exciting tunes as long as you have not heard Putrid Stench. Although the general formula has remained untouched, the individual design is always new. The three-piece still concentrates on almost painfully simple songs, conventional patterns and a big portion of shabbiness. M-A calls the band’s style thrash metal, but I fear that dudes like Alex Skolnick, Kragen Lum or Jeff Waters beg to differ. Okay, Waters has to be quiet since the release of “Set the World on Fire” and further trivialities, nevertheless, Violentor’s style has a punk-driven core. Perhaps one can say they are more metal than Agnostic Front and less thrash than Testament. But come on, this review is getting much more academic than the music itself. Thus, let’s express it simply. Violentor give full speed, they love unembellished attacks and their narrow-mindedness is bliss.

Tracks like the aptly titled “Burning Rage” leave nothing but scorched earth behind, “Butcher the Holy Swine” is a whirlwind of terror and “Hunter of the Anorexis” wants to be an almost multi-layered track (but of course only in the context of the band’s remaining material). Despite the basic brutality of the compositions, the trio always has an eye on catchiness as well. Naturally, the musicians use very simple means to create catchy sequences. For example, the frequent repetition of a single line of the lyrics is not forbidden, right? The boozy and antisocial voice is an important element, even though the rabid guitars dominate the sound. Speaking of the sound, enjoy a direct and brutal production which scores with the right relation between dirt and transparency.

The partially blasts beat driven title track represents the authentic violence of the protagonists significantly. Violentor do not disguise their musical preferences – they are what they do and their music sounds like they are. This means it’s up to you to decide whether or not you like to have another dose of pure, straightforward aggression. Violentor will probably never reach out for the stars, but their down-to-earth mentality and their non-commercial way of proceeding just make fun. Maybe I should take a trip to Italy this year in order to see them live on stage.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 2, 2020.

Roughly 60 years ago, Germans loved to visit Italy. After this tiny unconditional surrender, the Wirtschaftswunder had its first effects and so it was time to conquer other countries without having a machine gun under the arm. New experience! Sunny Italy was the first choice, but I bet that my ancestors would have selected another destination, if Violentor would have been already active. Their sound has nothing in common with a sun-drenched holiday.

Do you know at least one album of Violentor? Okay, good news, then you know them all. But bad news as well, you are missing some exciting tunes as long as you have not heard Putrid Stench. Although the general formula has remained untouched, the individual design is always new. The three-piece still concentrates on almost painfully simple songs, conventional patterns and a big portion of shabbiness. M-A calls the band’s style thrash metal, but I fear that dudes like Alex Skolnick, Kragen Lum or Jeff Waters beg to differ. Okay, Waters has to be quiet since the release of “Set the World on Fire” and further trivialities, nevertheless, Violentor’s style has a punk-driven core. Perhaps one can say they are more metal than Agnostic Front and less thrash than Testament. But come on, this review is getting much more academic than the music itself. Thus, let’s express it simply. Violentor give full speed, they love unembellished attacks and their narrow-mindedness is bliss.

Tracks like the aptly titled “Burning Rage” leave nothing but scorched earth behind, “Butcher the Holy Swine” is a whirlwind of terror and “Hunter of the Anorexis” wants to be an almost multi-layered track (but of course only in the context of the band’s remaining material). Despite the basic brutality of the compositions, the trio always has an eye on catchiness as well. Naturally, the musicians use very simple means to create catchy sequences. For example, the frequent repetition of a single line of the lyrics is not forbidden, right? The boozy and antisocial voice is an important element, even though the rabid guitars dominate the sound. Speaking of the sound, enjoy a direct and brutal production which scores with the right relation between dirt and transparency.

The partially blasts beat driven title track represents the authentic violence of the protagonists significantly. Violentor do not disguise their musical preferences – they are what they do and their music sounds like they are. This means it’s up to you to decide whether or not you like to have another dose of pure, straightforward aggression. Violentor will probably never reach out for the stars, but their down-to-earth mentality and their non-commercial way of proceeding just make fun. Maybe I should take a trip to Italy this year in order to see them live on stage.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Alex on April 28, 2019.

Pa Vesh En has arrived for some springtime abductions and testimonies. No one does it better than the cryptic figure often seen in the open landscapes and murky alleyways. Just last year we were gifted with a demo, an EP, a split with Temple Moon and a demented full length Church of Bones, all of which displayed raw black metal in the vein of a disciplined, calculated and ornate beast; the kind that attires himself in the pride of knowing he will be able to reproduce something of significant impact. We have had many come before Pa Vesh En, but they never seemed to leave a lasting impression, they appeared, copied each other and were forgotten easily. I'm afraid to say it but the monster before us will be within our perception and lurking in our minds on an ever-frequenting basis. It's late spring early summer and the atmosphere is just right for a glimpse into what nightmares Pa Vesh En has been conjuring in his hideout. 

Pa Vesh En revisits an old relic, reminisce about how it all began and documents his emotional states as he sits in nostalgia of the desecrated. Cryptic Rites of Necromancy takes you there, to witness the methodical process responsible for summoning the will to destroy and deplete what is not yours. The 4 items on here sees the beast undergo a series of feelings before committing the formidable acts. A profound moment in the movie Houses that Jack Built is brought to mind; one in which the main antagonist described the phases he must surpass before indulging in his vile practice. Depression is mentioned as an important factor that propels his sickness, this state of being is represented on the final track “Entwined with Snakes”, it somehow portrays a struggle to restrain the impulsive urge but to no avail. It's short lived rebellion that only creates an urgency to escape periodically via committing oneself to the cycle. 

These states are encouraged and applied to the grave madness of Pa Vesh En. Not to be mistaken, this does not appear to be a depressive act for the most part but does utilize some means to express such alongside his glaring contempt for those that shuffle by daily ignorant to the world parallel to theirs, yet opposite in principles. Cryptic Rites of Necromancy takes you through a short but profound journey through the mind of Pa Vesh En, only 12 minutes of music, yet the session slightly lifts the curtain to offer a peek into how and why he does what he does. The thing about Pa Vesh En’s music is its provoking aura, the effect of casting a wound on either one's own self or someone else, letting that wound heal only to reopen and fondle with it in a perverse way. Like to refrain from smoking or drinking or whatever but revisit it and lay in its comfort. The effect is so potent as such is the case with “Witness to Ceremonial Witchery”, that one cannot help but to think of past time obscene pleasures; long gone but left behind an insatiable yearning. 

The production this time around is thicker and more bassy than that of before, it helps in adding memorability to the songs. Though just a few entries, it still outshines what others have done with more material. He always gets his message across even with the least amount of time. His voice goes in accordance with the varying guitar accentuation that either express melancholy or aggression. Don't be mistaken, this is not “dsbm”, Pa Vesh En’s material is evil in nature, the mournful sounds are but a tool used to support the insinuations. The music on Cryptic Rites of Necromancy is a call for dark introspect, a soul being chased by a once relished parasite longing to rekindle with a mephitic fixation.

Rating: 8 out of 10