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Album Review – Pneuma Hagion / From Beyond (2024)

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This auditory Texan Black and Death Metal onslaught returns with their new and brutal album, exploring Lovecraftian ideas of horrifying extra-dimensional entities forcing their way into the causal universe by infecting the minds of humans.

The auditory Black and Death Metal onslaught hailing from Texas and known as Pneuma Hagion, which is Greek for “Holy Spirit”, is about to unleash upon humanity their third full-length album, titled From Beyond, a relentless barrage of down tuned brutality that will resonate deep with the darkest chords of your soul. Mixed and mastered by Mike G, with the vinyl master being taken care of by Carlo Altobelli at Toxic Basement Studios, and displaying a stylish cover art by English poet, painter, and printmaker William Blake (1757-1827), the new album by the monstrous duo R. on vocals, guitars and bass, and S. on drums explores Lovecraftian ideas of horrifying extra-dimensional entities forcing their way into the causal universe by infecting the minds of humans. Each song is from the perspective of some malevolent entity of unfathomable nature trying to influence the world of mortals and trying to infiltrate our universe in order to cause its ultimate destruction.

The opener Harbinger Of Dissolution sounds groovy and infernal from the very first notes, with R. delivering an overdose of aggression through his riffs and vocals supported by the classic blast beats by S., while Resurrected Abominations is a lesson in old school, primeval Death Metal by the duo, with their Cannibal Corpse-inspired riffs and beats turning it into the perfect soundtrack for some sick mosh pit action. Lurking Beyond Time And Space offers another two and a half minutes of sheer animosity and heaviness led by the cadaverous roars by R., who also hammers his guitar and bass mercilessly nonstop; and the duo keeps haunting our damned souls in Those Who Obey, a Death Metal onrush tailored for fans of the genre showcasing a brutal and evil performance by S. on drums. It’s then time to break our necks headbanging to the caustic riffs by R. in The Temple Fires, bringing forward a beyond heavy sound boosted by the deep guttural by R., exploding into sheer madness halfway through it.

Then investing in a much more demented and visceral sonority the duo will pierce our cranial skulls with Aeon, a thunderous tune overflowing groove with the infernal drums by S. providing R. with exactly what he needs to bark and growl like a beast, and there’s no time to breathe in The Light of Long-Dead Stars, another pulverizing aria of classic Death Metal spearheaded by the hellish roars and caustic riffs by R. There are two more demonic chants to go, starting with All Worlds Enslaved, where the duo once again destroys our frail bodies with their dense and fierce sounds, with S. sounding inhumane on drums as usual, therefore adding even more violence to their music. Finally, get ready to be smashed like a putrid insect in the closing tune Archon, offering their characteristic aggression led by the demented drums by S. while R. continues to vociferate in the name of extreme music.

In a nutshell, From Beyond is thick, raw, crushing and unfiltered aggression made in Texas, and Pneuma Hagion are definitely waiting for you on Facebook to join them in their malevolent realm of Death Metal. Also, don’t forget to stream their music on Spotify, and obviously to show them all your support by purchasing their wicked new album by clicking HERE (physical) or HERE (digital). In other words, the otherworldly entities depicted in From Beyond are ready to take over our rotten world, and the Death Metal by Pneuma Hagion is exactly what they need as the soundtrack to their upcoming apocalyptic strike.

Best moments of the album: Resurrected Abominations, Aeon and Archon.

Worst moments of the album: Lurking Beyond Time And Space.

Released in 2024 Everlasting Spew Records

Track listing
1. Harbinger Of Dissolution 2:43
2. Resurrected Abominations 2:51
3. Lurking Beyond Time And Space 2:25
4. Those Who Obey 2:57
5. The Temple Fires 2:54
6. Aeon 2:49
7. The Light of Long-Dead Stars 2:48
8. All Worlds Enslaved 2:51
9. Archon 2:03

Band members
R. – vocals, guitars, bass
S. – drums

Album Review – Godless / Swarm EP (2018)

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Committed to pure, unadulterated, lightning-fast, ear-shredding, thrash-influenced Death Metal, this promising Indian act is ready to kill with their crushing and groovy sophomore EP.

From their inauspicious origins in 2015 in the city of Hyderabad, the capital of southern India’s Telangana state, within a very exotic metal music scene, Death/Thrash Metal squad Godless slowly rose to the very top of the country’s Death Metal class thanks to their unapologetic commitment to pure, unadulterated, lightning-fast, ear-shredding, thrash-influenced Death Metal. Comprised of Kaushal LS on vocals, Ravi Nidamarthy on the guitars, Abbas Razvi on bass and Aniketh Yadav on drums, Godless had an amazing year in 2018, having won the Wacken Metal Battle India, having played at the iconic Wacken Open Air as the great prize of the competition won, and having released their sophomore EP, a thrashing and groovy beast entitled Swarm.

Featuring a dark and devilish artwork by Khaos Diktator Design, Swarm deals with controversial themes such as zombification, cosmic horror, reanimation of the dead, occultism and religion. “We actually started to work on the Swarm EP right after our debut EP Centuries of Decadence. We didn’t really have any direction in mind but wrote the song Infected by the Black. Things naturally took on a more aggressive, thrashier and faster direction, and we just continued the flow from there on for the rest of the EP,” commented the band about their new album, inviting us all to slam into the pit and roar together with them on their quest for extreme music.

The soothing sound of water blended with cryptic, otherworldly noises in the intro Exordium set the stage for Godless to decimate our senses in Infected By The Black, blasting a more demonic version of the already heavy-as-hell Trash Metal by their countrymen SystemHouse33, and with Kaushal barking and roaring like a beast in a true Death Metal style while Aniketh pounds his drums frantically and with tons of groove. Following such pulverizing start we have From Beyond, another brutal tune blending the most electrifying elements from Thrash, Death and Groove Metal where Ravi’s riffs sound as metallic and piercing as possible, accompanied by Abbas and his menacing bass punches.

Then growling deeper and deeper like a rabid creature, Kaushal leads his henchmen in the fulminating Deathcult, presenting a crisp and thunderous sonority thanks to the fantastic sync between Abbas and Aniketh, not to mention Ravi’s incendiary guitar lines. Put differently, this is old school Thrash Metal infused with the most carnivorous elements from Death Metal, for the absolute delight of fans of extreme music. And last but not least, with the help of guest guitarist Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschlager (Obscura, Despotic, NYN), the quartet unleashes hell upon humanity with the thrashing and infernal tune Empty Graves, where Kaushal goes full Death Metal on vocals while Aniketh sounds like an unstoppable stone crusher on drums, bringing total chaos in the form of music to end the EP on a high and visceral note.

All the devastation and groove brought forth by Godless can be better appreciated by following them on Facebook, by subscribing to their YouTube channel, by listening to more of their music on Spotify, and obviously by purchasing Swarm from their BandCamp page or webstore,  as well as from iTunes or Amazon. Because you know, whenever you feel the urge to slam into the circle pit and scream like a beast to the sound of crushing Death and Thrash Metal, you can count on this promising Indian act to provide you the perfect soundtrack to that.

Best moments of the album: Infected By The Black.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Independent

Track listing
1. Exordium 0:51
2. Infected By The Black 3:33
3. From Beyond 3:44
4. Deathcult 3:24
5. Empty Graves (feat. Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschlager) 3:50

Band members
Kaushal LS – vocals
Ravi Nidamarthy – guitars
Abbas Razvi – bass
Aniketh Yadav – drums

Guest musician
Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschlaeger – guitars on “Empty Graves”