(In late August the Berlin-based Israeli band Har released their debut album on Dark Descent, and Todd Manning has given us and you the following impressions of it.)
Some releases just possess a visceral impact that some of their contemporaries lack. Such is the case with the debut full-length from Berlin’s Har. Cursed Creation, issued recently by Dark Descent Records, displays Har’s ability to draw from many of metal’s most extreme niches to create a harrowing listening experience.
Tim Grieco’s monochromatic artwork might be the first clue to unlocking the various elements of Har’s sound. Eschewing some black metal bands’ pastoral album art, this cover looks like some kind of gridwork blurred into abstraction. It betrays a certain coldness that reminds one of the urban and sometimes bleak futurism embraced by the Norwegian scene in the mid-to-late ‘90s. Har does sidestep the more techno elements that sometimes came from that scene, but albums such as Mayhem’s Wolf’s Lair Abyss and Satyricon’s Rebel Extravaganza do seem to inform their sound. The mid-paced break that interjects itself between the blasting of “Chronocide” seems to veer in that direction.
But the pure, visceral violence Har can manifest may nod toward another influence. The pure blast-beat driven chaos on tracks like “Poisonous Entity” and “Invoking Evil Spirit” manifests barbaric, war metal vibes, like a more black metal Angelcorpse or Diocletian. “Invoking Evil Spirit” not only nails the speed element but has the crazed guitar dive-bombs and frenzied solos as well.
The album culminates with the one-two punch of “Shachat-seven halls of defilement” and “Metaphysical Stench”. The former starts with an epic riff that is slightly reminiscent of Satyricon’s “Filthgrinder” before launching into a relentless grind-fueled attack. It is the most brutal song on the album, and that is saying something.
“Metaphysical Stench” goes for a more atmospheric approach without losing the heaviness. The opening riff employs a Deathspell Omega-like mood before diving into a crushing mid-paced death metal riff. They still find chances to blast here and there and one gets the impression this is what they truly excel at. Yet, the other riffs here are extremely powerful, the whole tune constructed for maximum impact.
Har are not an “experimental” band by any stretch but they find a way to blend their influences into a seamless whole. Speed, brutality, and blackened misanthropy ooze from Cursed Creation and these things are surely all that matters to the trio. So throw the album on and take cover, Cursed Creation will leave devastation in its wake.
https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cursed-creation
https://www.facebook.com/harblackmetal
https://www.instagram.com/har.band