Annihilus/Ghanima/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Chicago,  Illinois's  Annihilus  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into  more  of  a  black  metal  direction  with  elements  of  noise  rock,  sludge, shoegaze  and  instrumental  synth  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2020 album  "Ghamima".

  Dark,  heavy  and  melodic  riffing  starts  of  the  album  along  with  some  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later.  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  also  show  an  influence  of  noise  rock  and  a later  track  also  introduces  synths  onto  the  recording.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard briefly  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  metal.  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  some  of  the  riffing  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  shoegaze  as well  as  some  blast  beats also  being  utilized  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up.

  All  of  the  tracks  also  sound  very  different  from  each  other  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  the  album  also  closes  with  a  cover  of  The  Sex  Pistols   "Anarchy  In  The  U.K"  which  is  done  in  more  of  a  blackened  noise  style  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  interpretations  from  Neil  Gaiman's   The  Sandman  and  Frank  Herbert's  Dune. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Annihilus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal  with  some  shoegaze,  noise  rock  and  sludge  metal  elements,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Matthew"  "A  Moon  Falls"  and  "W.T.W.B".  8  out  of  10.

https://annihilus-sounds.bandcamp.com/album/ghanima   

            

Annihilus/Eternal Winter/Gipsy House Recordings/2019 EP Review

  Illinois's  solo  project  Annihilus  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into a  mixture of  black  metal  and  dark  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  ep  "Eternal  Winter"  which  was  released  by Gipsy  House  Recordings.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  open  note  riffing.  Vocals  are  mostly  tortured  sounding  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  some  elements  of  sludge  metal  as  well  as  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  At  times  the  music  also  captures  a  very  lo-fi  atmosphere  while  the  black  metal  elements  are  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  old  school  tradition.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction,  the  closing  track  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  adds  in  spoken  word  parts  and  and  ambient/noise  style  soundscapes,

  On  this  recording  Annihilus  takes  his  black  metal  style  and  mixes  it  with  some  elements  of  sludge  and  drone  to  take  his  style  to  a  different  level.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  take some  inspiration  from  comic  books  and  movies.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Annihilis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal  and  dark  drone,  you  should  check  out  the  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Eternal  Winter".  8  out  of  10.

https://gipsyhouserecordings.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-winter

   

Annihilus/Fire & Life/Depressive Illusions Records/2019 Demo Review

  Annihilus  are  a  solo  project  from  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  demo  "Fire  &  Life"  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  Depressive  Illusions  along  with  the  first  demo  which  was  also  reviewed  in  this  zine  as  bonus  tracks  on  the  second  side.

  A  very  distorted  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  At  times  the  music  also  captures  a  lo-fi  atmosphere  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  which  was  not  really  present  on  the  previous  demo  reviewed

  A  good  amount  of  early  2000's  era  USBM  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  musical  style  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  moments.  Guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction,  blast  beats  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

   On  this  recording  Annihilus  remains  true  to  his  raw  black  metal style  while  also  showing  some  progression  as  a  musician  and  also  taking  his  sound  to  another  level.  The  production  sounds  very  dark, r aw  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  are  mostly  inspired  by  comic  books  and  movies.

 In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Annihilus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Recorder"  and  "Chaos  Bringer".  8  out  of  10.

https://dir666.bandcamp.com/album/fire-life

Annihilus Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

I've spent most of my life playing drums in punk bands in Chicago--currently I'm the drummer in a kind of minimal noise rock project called Luggage (https://luggagechicago.bandcamp.com/). I've had a fascination with black metal for a long time, and always wanted to try my hand at making that king of music. I took inspiration from some of my favorite solo-black metal projects and holed up in the Luggage practice space with my friend Michael Grant who has a lot of experience making solo demos, and just had him mic everything up quickly and with as little fuss as possible, and went for it.

2.So far you have released one ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Some of my favorite black metal recordings are all made by one person, projects like Xasthur, Burzum, and Deadlife. So I tried to channel some of that energy when writing and recording these songs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music so far?

I by no means consider myself a lyricist, so most of the words to my songs are adapted from comic books and movies I really like.

4.On your song titles you have a period in between each other, do the songs have any secret meaning?

These four songs were more or less recorded as a demo, so the titles are essentially phrases I was using as working titles in their abbreviated form.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Annihilus'?

Annihilus is one of the greatest foes of the Fantastic Four. He's a reptilian alien creature born in the Negative Zone whose only reason for living is to hate and destroy humanity. Pretty freaky dude, I'd say.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

The cover of the tape available through Corpse Torture Records was designed by the dude who runs the label, Lance.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Musical collaboration is one of the things that makes me happiest. Writing and recording with my band is my favorite thing in the world to do. Doing something completely on my own was definitely a huge step outside of my comfort zone, so it was super exciting to challenge myself in that way, and it's been really rewarding so far.

8.I have noticed that there is very little information about the solo project online with no facebook pages and any mentions of the project other than the bandcamp and metal archives page, is it intentional to keep the project from being done on the media pages?

Annihilus might creep onto social media at some point soon, but in its current, infantile phase, I'll just let the music speak for itself.

8.The cassette was released on 'Corpse Torture Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Corpse Torture is a tape label in England that does a whole bunch of hyper-limited runs of extreme metal releases. Lance heard my demo on Bandcamp and asked to release some copies.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

No one has called me a poser yet, so I'd say so far, so good.

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I already have a good handful of new songs recorded. I'm currently looking for a good home for a second release. The new songs are similar to the first batch: lo-fi, crispy, blown-out. I'd like to one day take a stab at bringing Annihilus to a proper studio...but I also fear going too pro might lose the rawness that is so vital the great black metal.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Like I said earlier, Xasthur, Burzum, and Deadlife are my big three as far as influence for this project. I think Subliminal Genocides by Xasthur is the best black metal record created on American soil. The depth of beauty and epic scope achieved on that record blows my mind every time I hear it. I listen to a lot of black metal in the my day-to-day, but I also love sludge metal, like Melvins and Eyehategod and Yob, and I'm also a pretty serious hip-hop head. This Wu Tang 25th anniversary hype has me jamming 36 Chambers, Liquid Swords, and Only Built for Cuban Linx nonstop lately.

12.Does Satanism and Occultism play any role in your music?

Personally I'm about as atheist as they come, so it's very important to me that I keep my music completely apolitical and areligious.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for listening.

https://annihilus-sounds.bandcamp.com/

Annihilus/Self Titled/Corpse Torture Records/2019 Demo Review

  Annihilus  are  a  solo  project  from  Illinois  that  plays  a  raw form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled  2019  demo  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  Corpse  Torture  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  demo  while  the  vocals  are  mostly high  pitched  black  metal  screams  that  remind  me  of  mid  2000's  era  USBM.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Some  of  the  faster  material  also  shows  an  influence  from  the  90's  second  wave  era  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  very  heavy  and  power  chord  driven  style  and  drones  are  added  on  the  closing  track.

  Annihilus  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  dark,  heavy  and  raw  sounding  and  focuses  most  on  power  chords  and  less  on  melody  to  create  a  very  heavy  style.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Annihilus  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "T.M.T"  and  "S.D".  8  out  of  10.

https://annihilus-sounds.bandcamp.com/