MALAKHIM
Theion
IRON BONEHEAD Blast-ridden blasphemy from the darkest heart of Västerbotten
These Swedes’ debut album is a filth-encrusted war machine. There Is A Beacon cranks up to muscularity beset with rabid blasting attacks before the flaying Merciless Angel Of Pestilence. This is modern BM with orthodoxy at its heart – bold, well-produced and utterly frenzied, very much like their countrymen Watain. Chalice Of Ruin brims with power as rasping vocalist E is lost in a dissociative trance and Hammer Of Satan somehow redoubles the assault. Malakhim have delivered on the promise of their celebrated early EPs. This is BM forged in Satan’s fire, the only drawback being that the fervency is tempered by familiarity. ■■■■■■■■■■