Limbonic Art -hands down, no question about it- have mastered the Terrifyingly Soul Shredding Scream.  To paraphrase Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, these screams could horrify you into a coma.  As harsh and relentless as the 'throat full of broken glass' growling is that Mr. Daemon liberally slathers across the eight tracks of his new album, it's the tortured wailing of people apparently suffering unspeakable fates that's making me want to stop listening.  I'm sure there are those among you that derive great pleasure from hearing agonized yowls come out of things that will probably soon be deceased.  I could do without, personally... and since these banshee wails seem to pop up every few minutes, it's putting my sanity and patience to the test.  Nevertheless, I soldier on...

The tandem of Daemon and Morfeus are quite capable technically.  They craft musically compelling epics of black metal, utilizing an array of standard conventions (buzzy tremolo guitars; machinegun drum blasts; atmospheric keyboards) and eerie synthetic/industrial sounds.  The album is filled with unindentifiable clanking, thumps, and rustling noises that emanate from sources I'd rather not think about at length.  There are also a number of creepy and disturbing atmospheric patches sprinkled throughout the album's length, giving the listener temporary respite from the blasting guitar assault... but offering little in the way of solace or relief.

On the guitar front, interesting riffs abound.  They appear frequently and rapidly, awash in a sea of malevolent noise.  Interestingly, at one point (the specific song it happened in is beyond me- I was too busy trying to survive the album to notice) Limbonic Art seems to borrow the main chorus riff from Metallica's 'Creeping Death' for a few bars in the middle of a flurry of disorienting sound that interprets the source material in an entirely unwholesome way.  Despite their general adherance to standard black metal practices, there's no doubt that the two men behind Limbonic Art are skilled musicians who know how to create and sustain the mood they desire.

Thematically, the album dwells in rather familiar and unsurprising death-obsessed territory.  What seperates it from the rest of the blackened pack is the apparent conviction with which the lyrics are realized in Daemon's vocals.  I have rarely heard a sound so repellantly evil as the hateful crackle of his distressed cries.  If his goal was to sound inhuman, he succeeded.  Everything about his vocal delivery is worrisome and extreme.  This will undoubtedly please many fans of such noises, but it left me uneasy and seriously questioning whether anybody really needs to make (or listen to) such sounds.  The vocal style makes the occasionally hateful lyrics a good deal more potent than they otherwise would have been, and turns even the most benign missives into ugly screeds.  Occasionally Daemon will take a break from his hellish ranting to insert a discomforting spoken word segment into the proceedings, but it does nothing to lighten the mood... which is in keeping with his intent, I suspect.

I won't lie.  Due to the relentlessly evil and venomous nature of the music, listening to Limbonic Art's latest release has been an ordeal I am not keen on repeating.  I wish my ears could vomit the sounds of this album back out so that they wouldn't fester in the corridors of my mind, making me queasy when I think of what I've heard.   Nevertheless, this album will appeal to a certain crowd. 'The Ultimate Death Worship' lives up to its name, and those who find some release in listening to the most pointedly hateful and extreme music will consider their money well spent on this album.  They can have it.

Track List:
01.) The Ultimate Death Worship
02.) Suicide Commando
03.) Purgatorial Agony
04.) Towards The Oblivion Of Dreams
05.) Last Rite For The Silent Darkstar
06.) Interstellar Overdrive
07.) From Shades Of Hatred
08.) Funeral Of Death

Limbonic Art is:
Daemon: Lead vocal, guitars, and nocturnal poetry
Morfeus: Electronics, lead guitars, and additional vocals

Limbonic Art official website:
http://www.limbonic.com

Nocturnal Art Productions:
http://www.nocturnalart.com

10/10/02