Black Anvil is back with a fifth album.
Formed in 2007, the New York Black/Thrash band composed of P.D. (vocals/bass, Duivel, ex-Kill Your Idols, live for Madball), R.G. (drums/vocals, ex-Kill Your Idols), Sos (guitar, Sanhedrin) and Travis Bacon (guitar, Grudges) announced the release of Regenesis in 2022, after signing with Season of Mist.
The album opens with The Gates Of Brass, a mysterious and melancholic introduction which drives to the cutting melodies of In Two, a very energetic track which doesn’t take long to explode. The devastating basis coupled with wild screams produces a very raw sound, but we will also notice some more haunting and mystical parts, letting aggressiveness resurface on The Bet, a composition which draws from rage to build a rather jerky rhythmic while leaving an important place to leads. Some backing vocals also come to soften few parts, then darkness comes again to introduce 8-bit Terror, the following track, which is also very melodious and catchy. This simple but effective track’s dissonance allows it to develop very sharp riffs before 29 comes to unveil an aggressive and fast introduction. The track will be punctuated by uncontrollable explosions of violence under an unstoppable blast, but we always find these soothing vocal parts to contrast with screams, then Silver Steele reveals very soft influences, sometimes dipping into an airy Occult Rock. We obviously have Black Metal bases on the saturated parts, but quietness will leave for Castrum Doloris and its icy harmonics, then to its untameable rage. The raw strength will be tempered by a disturbing sample and then by clean vocals and haunting sounds, letting Echoes Tapestry feed the dark melancholy while keeping some very aggressive patterns borrowed from the band’s Old School roots. The track is long, and it lets the band easily sail between the two shades of its universe, then the solo drives us to VV and its oppressive ambient sounds. The interlude quickly passes, then NYC Nightmares will wake the old demons of the band’s mothertown up in company of Danny « Ezec » Diablo, known of the underground Hip-Hop and Hardcore scene. The duet may be surprising, but it is incredibly raw and hooking, making it one of the band’s most effective tracks, and it will be followed by Grant Us His Love which offers diversified sounds, whether it is a heavy first riff, a devastating speed, soaring parts or this warlike march. The explosive final guides us to Regenesis, the last track, which remains in this catchy mix between aggressiveness and softness to which the band got us used to from the first track.
The evolution of Black Anvil continues. Whether the band started by playing a sharp Black/Thrash whose roots can still be found on the frantic parts, Regenesis permanently plays with a contrasted sound, sometimes throbbing and sometimes melodious, which will not leave you indifferent.
90/100