Various artists - Sacrifice At The Altar Of The Satanic Blood Angel: A Tribute To Von

Rating: 7.0

Country: Various

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
01. Blasphemophagher "Lamb"
02. Beastcraft "Satanic Blood"
03. Tjolgtjar "Christ Fire"
04. Unholy Crucifix "Evisc"
05. Frostmoon Eclipse "Watain"
06. Sumeria "VON"
07. Askelon "Release"
08. Esprit Derange "Devil Pig"
09. Godslaying Hellblast "Veinen"
10. Raw Hatred "Backskin"
11. Necroholocaust "Blood Angel"
12. Enbilulugugal "Lamb"
13. Sjenovik "Vennt"
14. Brobdingnagian "Veadtuck"
15. Dawn of Sorrow "Christ Fire"
16. Exekrator "VON"
17. Sermon of Foulness "Chalice of Blood"
18. Godless "Dissection Inhuman"
19. Black Vomit "Devil Pig"
20. Burning Blood "Goat Christ"
21. Volkermord "Watain"
22. Nuclearhammer "Blood Angel"
23. Ceremonial Castings "Veinen/Veadtuck"
24. Istidraj "Satanic Blood"

Various artists - Sacrifice At The Altar Of The Satanic Blood Angel: A Tribute To Von

Von... sloppy before sloppy was cool, if you'll excuse the cliche. But I won't waste space babbling about the band's historical significance and/or cultness, because if you're not already familiar with them, this really isn't for you.

I'll disown my elite underground credibility up front and admit to not having heard of many of the bands featured in this tribute. I mean, Blasphemophager? Who the fuck? But hey, let's face it: when you're studiously paying tribute to the minimalistic beast of slurred power chords and disembodied grunts that was Von, you could be an electropolka band from some ghost town in Kyrgyzstan and it wouldn't really make much of a difference. But obviously, as true to Von's vision as these bands remain, they take their share of artistic liberties; otherwise this compilation would be pointless. Unlike Nidsang [review], at whom I poked fun for making a totally unnecessary Von cover in the past, most of these bands are aware that compositions this skeletal are to be seen as palettes upon which to paint with their own personalities. It's still filthy, raw shit, though. To the artless and uninitiated, this will probably even qualify as anti-music (or at the very least, the ever-popular "senseless noise" label), yet the more you listen to it, the more ostensible the malignant poetry lurking beneath the riffs becomes. I'm not going to insult anyone's intelligence by insisting "it's the notes they're not playing, man," but it does bleed a sense of vomitous sickness that transcends the CD's binary music, and it will probably elude your sensibilities unless you have fond memories of blasting Blasphemy and Sarcofago.

Among the highlights of the artistic liberties taken is Unholy Crucifix's slant on "Evisc," the mix of which is so muddy the song is transformed into a sort of throbbing drone. Meanwhile, Black Vomit take a similar route, converging their song's elements into a noisy texture turned into some kind of breakcore song from hell with stop/start electronic manipulation and spastic drum 'n bass breaks, while Sjenovik tackle "Vennt" as a sort of electronic tribal experiment, much more ritualistic and sparse than the previously mentioned covers, almost like something from Beherit's Drawing Down the Moon. Vocally, you get pretty much every extreme of music old people hate; in the crescendo of Sumeria's cover of Von's namesake song, I nearly mistook the vocalist for a barking dog, while Exekrator sneak some goofy power drill falsetto squeals into the second instance of the same song. Oh, and special mention goes to the poorly named Brobdingnagian's strikingly noisy interpretation of the most traditionally melodic Von song, "Veadtuck," which somehow manages to be more scary and percussive than anything else on this compilation. The rest decide to leave Von's music largely untouched by relegating their own little touches to intros, fills, and other superficialities.

Production values dramatically vary from song to song, but suffice to say it's all pretty lo-fi and shitty. To give you an idea of the tribute's extremes, the dirty guitar tone of Burning Blood's "Goat Christ" cover is positively tectonic, while it sounds like Nuclearhammer's cover of "Blood Angel" is being suffocated to death by pillowcases filled with kittens. Expect a hugely inconsistent collection as far as sound quality goes.

(For those who care, the booklet includes tons of band photos [mostly donning chains and gas masks {I counted three of those alone} and stuff], and original art from Von's Goat. Cool.)

By dragging a slightly experimental edge into what would otherwise seem like musically foreign territory, the bands in this compilation interpret the material in question with the same kind of gross irreverence Von once flaunted at the comparatively clean thrash bands that once dominated the scene. As well as a faithful tribute to one of the most enigmatic metal bands of the early 90s, this compilation can also serve as a platform for those keen on exploring the deep black/war metal underground. Overall good stuff, and highly recommended if nonsense like "autistic blood" means anything to you.

Since this is a rather bloated compilation, observe as I entertain an obnoxiously common music review construct. Best songs: Brobdingnagian - "Veadtuck"; Black Vomit - "Devil Pig"; Sjenovik - "Vennt".

June 6th, 2008