Dallas black/thrash outlaws The Black Moriah recently paid San Antonio a stop on their 2012 mini-tour that featured dates in Harlingen and Austin, and to commemorate the completion of said tour, we here at the San Antonio Heavy Metal Examiner have found it appropriate to review this promotional disc that features rough versions of three songs from The Black Moriah’s upcoming full-length, entitled “Casket Prospects”. The style of music on this disc is a mixture of black metal and thrash that takes the approach of classic Venom and bands like Aura Noir and injects a Wild West sensibility about it, and the concept alone is enough to separate the Black Moriah from a typical extreme metal band.
The promo starts off with the enthralling “Watch My Town Burn”, which also serves as a minor mission statement with its “kick in the door” approach to energetic extreme metal. The guitar riffing, courtesy of Zawicizuz (formerly of Absu) and Alkahest provides a hellish - yet exciting - atmosphere of “Road Warrior”-esque proportions, with occasional nods to doomy, old-school metal, although for the most part, speed is the name of the game. The guitar leads are perfect accompaniments to the high-octane approach of the songs, all-but-guaranteeing constant head banging to the persistent beat of the snare drum. The song is a microcosm of everything that the Black Moriah represent, with tremolo-picked riffs and oddly-catchy vocal patterns that are very well-written.
“Casket Prospects” continues the gun slinging vibe with furious riffs reminiscent of newer Absu (which makes sense given Zawicizuz’s previous musical affiliations) and visceral vocals courtesy of Evintis (formerly of Verkommen) as well as backup vocals by the other members of the band. This song showcases the more thrashy elements of The Black Moriah’s sound, especially with its savage introductory movement that is a fine way to start off the song. The songwriting on this tune (as well as the rest of the promo) is very straightforward, with few (if any) things that could detract from the main point of the songs, which ultimately greatly benefit’s the promo as a whole.
The demo ends with “Chained & Confined”, which takes a much different tone than the other songs on the release, with a downbeat intro that gives off a blackened air with its minor-key riffing. This mood quickly transitions to a more punky section, and the juxtaposition between the two movements keeps the song interesting. There are some very interesting clean vocals dubbed over raspy growls that give off an air of a wretched soul lamenting the upcoming apocalypse, which is very fitting. The bass has a very solid presence in this song, providing low-end licks while the guitar occupies the higher end of the spectrum with the aforementioned evil air, until the upbeat riffing kicks in. The song is a great way to close out the promo, although it certainly leaves the listener wanting more, which I suppose should be the point of any promotional release.
Even though this is billed as the rough mix of these songs, the gritty vibe of “Casket Prospects” is especially fitting to the raw black/thrash that the Black Moriah play. Everything is placed at an appropriate point in the mix, and there are no examples of clipping or anything else that would detract from the overall experience that The Black Moriah offers. The snare drum is nice and crisp, and the bass rumbles beneath the jagged guitars while the vocals growl and sneer to great effect. There exists a stereotype that anything black metal-related suffers from poor production value, but this promo serves as an example to the contrary to its own advantage.
Overall this is a disc that should generate anticipation for the full-length version of “Casket Prospects”, and anyone lucky enough to get an opportunity to get their hands on this promo would be well-advised to take advantage of it, because these hell-raisin’, gun-totin’ “Road Agents of the Blast Furnace” are definitely worth your time. If the old-school energy of Venom, (early) Bathory, and Kreator appeals to you, then you can do no wrong by checking out The Black Moriah.
For more info: Check out The Black Moriah on Facebook.
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