CoC : Megiddo - The Atavism of Evil : Review

Megiddo - _The Atavism of Evil_
(Barbarian Wrath, 2002)
by: Matthias Noll (8.5 out of 10)

Chorazaim returns with a second full-length album and once again successfully delivers the orthodox black metal goods. According to Barbarian Wrath "Megiddo stand in proud defiance of anything recorded after 1985 CE" and this is indeed a proper description of their style. Basically this band is comparable to the Bathory debut combined with a good dose of grooving and anthemic metal without ever sounding like a rip-off or pure nostalgia. Blasphemous lyrics are fiercely spewn forth in rasping black metal style and the production is extremely raw but remains thick and powerful. This is certainly not a record for people who exclusively consider the _Transilvanian Hunger_ school of fast strumming the be-all-end-all of black metal. The power of simple, crushing riffs makes this a perfect soundtrack for drunken head banging, thrashing and fist-pumping rather than misanthropically dwelling in a cave in the nebula forest of winter frost. While certainly black metal at heart _The Atavism of Evil_ remains firmly rooted in what was considered extreme metal in the first half of the '80s although the delivery is far more ferocious than what was the norm for the bands back then. Again Megiddo have made an excellent choice of cover versions. This time it's Onslaught's "Witch Hunt" from _Power From Hell_ and Warfare's "Dance of the Death" from _Pure Filth_, which are seamlessly integrated into the original material. There are only minor changes in comparison to the excellent previous album _The Devil and the Whore_. The dominating pace is still pounding mid-tempo but the number of faster scorchers got slightly increased, the production is even a bit more ripping this time and Chorazaim's vocals sound a lot more natural and not as artificially distorted as before. Overall this is an excellent release not only for seasoned pre-second wave black metal lunatics! If in doubt check out the two full-length samples at Barbarian Wrath.

Contact: http://www.barbarianwrath.org/

(article published 26/3/2003)