Review: OMENFILTH – Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery

OMENFILTH Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery
Eternal Death

Spewing forth some violent, nasty Black Metal terror since their inception, here comes a Filipino horde with their brand new opus inspired by the ancient days of the second wave of Black Metal.

Spawned out of the abyssal crypts of San Pablo, a city in the province of Laguna, in the Philippines, Black Metal horde Omen Filth has been spewing forth some violent, nasty Black Metal terror since their inception in 2013, clearly inspired by the killer late 80’s Greek-era. After the releases of their debut demo Diaboli Mortuo Infinitum, in 2014, followed by the full-length Opus Sanguinarium, in 2016, the split Veneration of Cruel Lust (with Irish metallers Sulphurhaze) and the live album Pandemonic Ascension of the Ancient Serpent, both in 2017, it’s time for Omenfilth to spread darkness upon humanity once again with their second full-length opus, the vile and macabre Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery.

As already mentioned, Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery brings the listener back to the ancient days of the second wave of Black Metal, during the late 1980’s, ripping your soul with a dark sound remeniscent of the early works of Samael and the swampy sounds of Rotting Christ and Varathron. And the band comprised of Deathfiend on vocals and guitar, Von Necroticus on the guitar, Guiller on bass and Emil the Dragon on drums simply nails it with their refined and extremely aggressive technique, sounding pulverizing and as vicious, malevolent and demonic as they can be throughout the album’s over 48 minutes of extreme music split into five distinct and very disturbing tracks.

Eerie, obscure sounds ignite a satanic feast titled “Shadows Of An Unholy War”, where Deathfiend sends his welcome card in the form of a truly infernal gnarl and with the music evolving into a full-bodied, old school Black Metal hymn with Emil the Dragon sounding rhythmic and bestial on drums, while Deathfiend and Von Necroticus cut our skin mercilessly with their straightforward and absolutely evil riffs. Then we have “Nihil Blood”, blending the darkness of Black Metal with the rawness and aggressiveness of Hardcore and Punk Metal, which in the end reminds me of the early days of the almighty Slayer, with Deathfiend sounding even more fiendish and enraged and with Guiller and Emil the Dragon building a dense background with their bass punches and demolishing beats, respectively; followed by “Demogorgon”, leaning towards modern-day Black Metal with hints of Atmospheric Black Metal and Blackened Doom. Once again showcasing an inspired quartet, this demented creation brings forward several breaks and variations that spice up its taste considerably, all spearheaded by the intricate drumming by Emil the Dragon.

However, it’s when they speed up their pace and increase their blasphemy and rage that they more than thrive, which is the case in “Under The Scythe Of The Infidel”, a brutish, obscure and completely awesome Black Metal hymn by Omenfilth led by the vociferations by Deathfiend and the slashing riffage by the band’s guitar duo, flowing darkly into a Doom Metal-inspired sonority before its cataclysmic finale. And last but not least, get ready for over 26 minutes of an ambient-influenced descent into the ominous pits of hell titled “Black Ritual Of Demonic Possession”, permeating the air with its wicked, disturbing and atmospheric noises and gnarls like and extended version of the intro to the all-time classic Hell Awaits by Slayer, never morphing into anything human or sane, therefore remaining as Stygian and sinister as possible until its very last second.

Omenfilth are indeed such an underground entity of darkness to the point they do not even have a Facebook page, but you can still savor their devilish music by visiting their SoundCloud page, and of course by purchasing Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery from their own BandCamp page as well as from the Eternal Death Records’ BandCamp page (in a limited cassette version). And after listening to the hellspawn music by Omenfilth found in Hymns Of Diabolical Treachery, not only you’ll succumb to the darkest side of music, but I’m sure you’ll also get extremely curious to know more about such distinct band and the entire underground (and fairly unexplored) extreme music scene from the Philippines.

Best moments of the album: “Nihil Blood” and “Under The Scythe Of The Infidel”.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Eternal Death Records

Track listing

1. Shadows Of An Unholy War 5:51
2. Nihil Blood 4:18
3. Demogorgon 5:32
4. Under The Scythe Of The Infidel 5:53
5. Black Ritual Of Demonic Possession 26:54

Band members:
Deathfiend – guitars, vocals
Von Necroticus – guitars
Guiller – bass
Emil the Dragon – drums

https://youtu.be/G5iuzLjqLG8