In The Constellation Of The Black Widow

British industrial black/death metallers Anaal Nathrakh have returned to full distortorama screaming strength on their 2009 full-length. The melodies that crept in at the margins on Eschaton and Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here have been almost entirely obliterated, replaced with the savage, relentless drum programming and blasts of dissonant guitar and electronics that marked their first (and still best) album, The Codex Necro. This is a fierce and unrelenting album unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't like being shrieked at for 35 minutes at a time, but there's subtlety within the sonic maelstrom. Voices are heard in the distant reaches of the mix like lost souls calling out in Hell as the larger roar overwhelms, with guitar solos and drum (machine) breaks emerging from the waves of audio hate. The relatively short songs (almost all in the two- to three-minute range) speed by, and though the album begins slowly, with sound effects of a rainstorm and maniacal sobbing as a slow riff builds in intensity (rather like a 2009 analogue to the first Black Sabbath album), it ends quite suddenly, with the digital equivalent of a tape slice. This is a harsh journey, but one well worth taking. ~ Phil Freeman