A cult German Black Metal horde returns after almost two decades with an infernal new EP hailing from the most rotten and neglected graveyards.
Forged in the darkest pits of Germany in the already ancient year of 1992, Bavaria’s own Black Metal cult horde Baxaxaxa is back from the underworld after almost two decades to keep burning the flame that coursed through them in the very early 90’s with a new EP entitled Devoted to HIM, offering the listener two original ghoulish apparitions lurking in the most rotten and neglected graveyards. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Lord Noctifer at Black Bunker Sounds and featuring a grim cover art by German tattoo artist Slawa Pavlyguine (Black Venom Ink.), Devoted to HIM is a middle-fingered assertion of Baxaxaxa’s ancient values, being recommended to diehard fans of Mortuary Drape, Root, Hungary’s Tormentor, early Samael and very early Mayhem, showcasing all the talent and devotion to darkness by vocalist Traumatic, guitarist Cryptic Tormentor, bassist Sulphur Irae, drummer Condemptor and keyboardist Antitron Desecratum W2J1L8.
And this unrelenting five-piece horde form hell begins their raw and dirty Black Metal attack with the old school Revelation in Sin, with Cryptic Tormentor’s piercing guitar lines exhaling darkness and fire, while Sulphur Irae and Condemptor bring a touch of Doom Metal to their already devilish sonority and Antitron Desecratum W2J1L8 adds sheer dementia to the overall result with his wicked keys, all spearheaded by Traumatic’s infernal gnarls and screams. Put differently, this is one of those songs tailored for haunting the souls of the lighthearted. Then after such demented onrush of extreme music, cryptic sounds permeate the air in the Stygian and sulfurous title-track Devoted to HIM, suddenly exploding into ass-kicking Black Metal infused with the speed and fury of Slayer and the rebelliousness of classic Punk Rock. Moreover, all band members are on absolute fire from start to finish, in special Cryptic Tormentor armed with his hellish axe, and Condemptor, who doesn’t stop hammering his drums not even for a single second, providing Traumatic all he needs to blast his demented growls.
This short but utterly infernal display of the rawest form of Black Metal imaginable is available for a full listen on YouTube, but of course if you consider yourself a true servant of darkness and evil you should follow such insane Teutonic horde on Facebook and, above all, purchase your copy of Devoted to HIM from the band’s own BandCamp page, or from the Iron Bonehead Productions’ BandCamp page or webstore (in black or white vinyl). The demonic and ruthless Black Metal played by Baxaxaxa (which by the way was a name selected before the band’s first rehearsal and refers to a demon found in a now-lost-and-forgotten book) might not be an easy-listen at first for the regular metal fan, but you know what? That’s exactly how their music is supposed to be, staying true to their roots and, obviously, forever and ever devoted to HIM.
Best moments of the album: Devoted to HIM.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Iron Bonehead
Track listing
1. Revelation in Sin 6:43
2. Devoted to HIM 4:05
Band members
Traumatic – vocals
Cryptic Tormentor – guitar
Sulphur Irae – bass
Condemptor – drums
Antitron Desecratum W2J1L8 – keyboards