Initially beginning as a one-man band from out of Calgary in Canada over ten years ago, Black Pestilence have gone on to evolve into a 3 piece and release 5 albums as well as share the stage and the road with the likes of The Black Dahlia Murder, Toxic Holocaust, Absu, Skeletonwitch, and Wednesday 13. 2020 sees the band continue forward with their concoction of black metal, thrash and punk in their latest album “Hail The Flesh”.
While black metal seems to be the focal point of the Canadian band’s main sound, there’s a lot of thrash and punk injected in there to keep things a bit more dynamic and varied. Compared to such acts as Toxic Holocaust and Skeletonwitch is a good comparison as there’s definitely a lot of those elements that those bands do well that can be found in Black Pestilence.
Opening with the title track with a burst of that punk/thrash sound, it’s a short lead in to the rest of the album that indicates a fairly good idea on what to expect. “Spurn All Gods” goes more traditional black metal with that classic wall of guitar sound and intense blast beats layered over a black and roll vibe. “Hellfire” switches over more in punk territory with catchy riffs that almost lean towards old school metal than anything else while “True To The Dark” blends the last two tracks style together interspersed with fuzzy bass lines.
The band jumps more into the darker side of things for a little bit with tracks like “Cloven Division” and “Godless” before they break things up and go for more groove laden metal in “Frauds To The Throne” and the slightly more faster “My Will To Power” where tempos switch seamlessly. The album ends with the longest track on offer, the drawn out slower paced “Ephemeral” where riffs are emphasised with the doomier heavy style.
It’s a solid closer to an album that really has a surprisingly wide range within the black/thrash/punk style so if you love that sort of black and roll aggressive metal, then “Hail The Flesh” will be an album for you.
7/10
TRACKLIST
Hail The Flesh
Spurn All Gods
Hellfire
True To The Dark
Cloven Division
Godless
Frauds To The Throne
My Will To Power
Ephemeral
