“Vacuum” is an album that I have been procrastinating for some time. I was not really in the mood, but after the happiest thing I have ever heard here, I had to clean things up. “Vacuum” is a mean effort. One can feel all the anguish it passes us. Balmog are a band full of anguish. “Vacuum” starts furiously with Qui immolatus iam non moritur …” which is actually an intro to “Eating the descendant” a song that keeps all the fury and raw attitude led by a fierceful guitar. Almost a non-stop piece of musical cruelty. But Balmog know how to masterly handle with some quick stops in order to break all the violence created by the band. There is another resoource Balmog work to break down the violence which is the guitar fingering. The effect is to break the violence and introduce not melody, but more anguish and fear to the song.
Balmog are a band that like to work with the profane. Songs like “Hodegetria” have some church choirs that mixed with the fiercyful and hellish voice create a profane, almost sinfull atmosphere. Balmog also like to create some sick atmospheres with the speech in the beginning of “Vigil of the Blinds.” The voice is not so angry, but the instrumental gives you the creeps that goes in a furious crescendo until reaching the peak exactly at the end. The emotional peek is reached with the solo of “Come to the Pulpit” in which one can feel all the anger and anguish that Balmog desire to pass on. And there goes “Vacuum,” an effort that makes one remember that there two opposite forces in this sad and lonely world: love and hate. And to be human is to deal with them.
Balmog “Vacuum” made me regreat procrastinating it. It will search for the light on March 16th via War Anthem Records.
Track Listing:
- Qui immolatus iam non moritur …
- Eating the descendant
- Hodegetria
- Vigil of the blinds
- Inde Deus Abest
- Come to the Pulpit
- Gignesthai
- … sed semper vivit occisus
Watch “Witness” official video here: