A New Kind of Horror
In 1999 Dave Hunt and Mick Kenny formed Anaal Nathrakh (serpent’s breath) in Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom. Hunt and Kenny took the name Anaal Nathrakh from the movie Excalibur. Anaal Nathrakh is an Industrial Black Metal/Grindcore band now but back in 1999 they came on to the music stage as a Black Metal band.
Meet the band:
A New Kind of Horor is Anaal Nathrakh‘s 10th studio album which was released in 2018 and was distributed by Metal Blade Records. The album cover alone shows the audience that Hunt and Kenny were not messing around with this album. The skull with the war helmet on emerging from the green mist just gives you a sense of eagerness for war, devastation, and annihilation. Their industrial instrumental and staticy screams make this album go super saiyan by showing in a few different songs how diverse this band can be.
Here is a link to the full album on Youtube:
After listening to the album multiple times I can say for 100% that the best songs off the album are “Forward!” and “Obscene as cancer”. “Forward!” starts off so creepily distorted that you can’t help questioning the sanity of the band, but then the little chimes get louder and evolve into this aggressive wartime anthem of metal music. Actual gun sounds like when a slide is cocked back and the firing of a gun was heavily used in the place of drums in this song and it works perfectly. The amazing guitar keep this mid-paced metal song under control and really highlights the amount of detail Anaal Nathrakh put into the piece. I appreciate how the band takes time in the song to slow it down and quiet the instruments just before the main chorus of the song. Then kinda like a bass drop without the bass drop the main chorus opens fire on the audience with the lyrics:
“Forward!
Forget your fear, the guns at your back scream
Forward!
Who gives a fuck if your enemy’s starving
Forward!
No place for cowards, up and over
Forward!
Your country needs you, so start killing”
(Metalkingdom.net)
That repeat of the word forward and the sound of guns being unleashed makes you want to get ready to fight, to kill, and to die in battle. I listen to this song when I workout because of the adrenaline this song sends through my veins and makes me want to push myself to the limit for what I want. The vocals only emphasize the lyrics because they are being screamed at you like a general or a military leader would scream at his soldiers. That sense of patriotism and the willingness to fight for a cause even if you will die is just outstanding to me because music should make you feel things like that. Not specifically bloodlust or anger but a feeling that makes you want to improve and make a change or release emotions. “Forward!” is by far the best song on this album and it is probably the most perfect songs I have listened to in a long time.
Here is a link to the song:
“Obsence of cancer” sounded very familiar to me when the main chorus dropped and I realized it reminded me of the metal king Ozzy Osbourne. If you like Ozzy you will love the main chorus of this song. The perfect combination of a tiny bit of classic metal with the thrash and aggression of a newer generation. If you are new to Anaal Nathrakh then you should liken to “Obsence of cancer” just so you can get a very small amount of there musical venom. The main chorus goes:
“In all my dreams
Before my helpless sight
He plunges at me
Guttering, choking, drowning”
(Metalkingdom.net)
The only real issues I have are with the intro song (“The road to…”) because I really didn’t enjoy the intro. I get it is supposed to be this slow progression to this inevitable war when “Obsence of cancer” comes on, but I really didn’t find it appealing. I believe Anaal Nathrakh could have made the intro song more impactful (even if the song was shorter) and more intense showing that the battle is here and the battle is happening.
Anaal Nathrakh, armed with addictive venom like a serpent, will bite you with its fangs and inject this intense strain of metal sound into your mind. Let the addictiveness of the band flow through your veins as the bullets become drums, and the screams become melodies of war. Anaal Nathrakh is by far one of the best Industrial bands I have heard. Each song like a call to war commanding devastation and obliteration. will you answer the call?
Here are some of the other albums by Anaal Nathrakh:
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