THE BLACK MORIAH: “CASKET PROSPECTS”

It’s not often I get an e-mail from a band that just says “For Your Damned Ears” with the band’s name and a web link . . . and that’s it. Well, really now, how could I resist? Especially when the band refer to themselves as “Road Agents of the Blast Furnace” or “a horde of highwaymen, hell-bent on Vulture Culture” (I found that out later when I visited that web link). The answer is, I didn’t resist.

The band’s name is The Black Moriah. They’re from North Texas and they “drink the spirits of past greats Bathory, Kreator, Motorhead, Slayer, [and] Venom,” or so though say, though I’m inclined to believe them.

They include former members of bands such as Absu, Bleed the Son, Psychiatric Regurgitation, and Aversion To Life. They’ve recorded and recently self-released a three-song demo called Casket Prospects, with the following track titles: “Casket Prospects”, “Chained and Confined”, and “Watch My Town Burn”. They got some skills. Looks like they may have some knives, too.

They can also rev the thrash engines into the red zone. The title track proves that, with vicious riffs, rapid-fire bass, snare-heavy drums with crashing cymbals, hard-driving pistons, a rusted exhaust pipe belching putrid smoke, and infernally blackened vocals. Irresistible headbang material.

“Chained and Confined” shifts gears. It’s slower, even more black metally (especially in the chorus), and with rhythms closer to black ‘n’ roll. But it’s still catchy as fuck.

Grisly tremolo chords start drilling right away in “Watch My Town Burn”, and the song takes off, but in the mid-section it down-shifts dramatically into a morbid dirge. That don’t last long, though. The song ramps back up, fueled by a couple of electrifying guitar solos.

These dudes do sound like they’re road agents from hell, but they’re gonna give you a good time before they drag you away and finish carving you up. For just a three-song demo, they deliver great variety and deliver it really well. In fact, I like all three songs so much I want to stream all three of them instead of picking just one, as I usually do.

“Casket Prospects”

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Casket-Prospects.mp3|titles=The Black Moriah-Casket Prospects]

“Chained and Confined”

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Chained-and-Confined.mp3|titles=The Black Morish-Chained and Confined]

“Watch My Town Burn”

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Watch-My-Town-Burn.mp3|titles=The Black Moriah-Watch My Town Burn]

The Black Moriah have plans for release of a full-length album (soon, we hope). You can visit their web site here, and there you can download each song on the promo (the downloads are high-quality .wav files), order what remains of a limited-edition pressing of the demo, and sign up to get an e-mail alert when the debut album becomes available. The band have a Facebook page at this location.