Anaal Nathrakh Album: “Passion”

AN have taken it to the next level in so many respects. The music is bleak, black, terrifying, and just about as heavy as it gets for extreme metal. There is no one word or phrase to describe their music. If you are new to their sound I think it would be helpful to listen to their earlier works before digesting Passion. Underneath numerous layers of cacophony lies this beautiful, melodic motif in most of their songs. It is contradictory, confusing, complementary, and beautiful all at once. Buy this album and get immersed in their greatness!

I was just introduced to Anaal recently, so I cannot give a fan-boy review of whether it is disappointing compared to previous records, but on its own is a very good album. They have an odd, yet somehow soothing blend of extreme metal. I almost felt exhausted after listening to the first track, it was so brutal. But they somehow fit melody and beauty to the choruses in the midst of all the brutality. They combine unexpected elements from a metal band to make a record that is very hard to grow bored with. This is going to have countless more spins in my stereo for years to come. I'd recommend this to any metal fan with an open mind.

I don't have a problem with this album. I own their entire discography thanks to their myspace store, nothing against amazon, so I'm definitely a fan and have been since 2001. While this album crushes it breaks no new ground. I think Mick has the creativity to keep pushing the boundaries but I'm not sure this album is it. They have gotten progressively better with every album. This one seems to go backwards a little. Maybe next time.