Formed in 2010 in Athens, Greece, Αιμα’s releases have thus far been few and far between. With a demo in 2012, and EP in 2014 and a split with Spain’s Supremative in 2017, it’s taken until 2019 for throat mangler Kerasphoros, string strangler Goat Architect, and skin basher Divine Desecrator to deliver unto the suffering world their first full length, τράγοςI(‘Tragos’, which Google informs me translates to ‘Goat’, of course). 8 tracks of blood curdling menace, it’s a blast from belligerent beginning to fuming finale.
Opener ‘Goatfuck Redemption’ – contender for the most hilariously disturbing track title of 2019 – drags us into the murk with steadily pummelled drums, gut-grinding riffs, and bestial vocals. After being hacked to pieces by such a gloriously gruesome opener, on we plow into ‘The Occultist’ with the grim shades of discordance descending upon us before ramping up the tempo and the tension with more savagery than any man, goat, or wicked wizard could summon. ‘Poison Communion and Real Flesh’ is a throat-tearing, city-destroying slab of incendiary evil, manic riffs matched with doom-laden devilishness. So far, so fucking crushing!
If the raging wrath of ‘Roar of the Animal’ isn’t enough to have you barking at the moon, then the ruthless ferocity of ‘Carve Ritualistic Pictographs on Forehead’ will certainly have you dashing to your local Bibles and Blades superstore to seek out the best 2-for-1 deal on offer. And just when you think that possibly, maybe, perhaps the album might slip down a gear or two, ‘Abomination Shaped Angel’ and closer ‘Hands in Blood’ hammer the final nails home with all the passion of the antichrist. Spiffing!
While the tracks are well-written and suffer no space for waste, sound engineer Sotiris Laskaris’s production cannot go unacknowledged. Recorded in the band’s rehearsal space, this sounds incredible. Black and death and all things mystically occult, τράγοςI is blasphemic bliss.
- Words by Jason Guest
- Released by Nuclear War Now! Productions on 15 June 2019
- Check it on Bandcamp here
- NWN on Facebook
Track List:
- Goatfuck Redemption
- The Occultist
- Poison Communion And Real Flesh
- Possessed Preacher
- Roar Of The Animal
- Carve Ritualistic Pictographs On Forehead
- Abomination Shaped Angel
- Hands In Blood
