Warkvlt – “Bestial War Metal”.

This album, hands down, sets the bar for the sub-genre that we often call “war metal“. Without question, this album “Bestial War Metal” is the genre’s answer to “Angel of Disease” and “Withdrawal“.

That’s quite a bold statement, isn’t it? To compare the work of Warkvlt with Phantom’s masterpieces is a pretty gutsy move? After further speculation, Warkvlt has been often blessed with pleasant records since their inception, but the barrier between greatness and perfection always seemed to be blocked by a tiny complication of some sort.

The “bestial black metal“, or blackened death metal, outfit progressively became more consistent as time went on, but improvement was still needed in certain areas of their music… however, the corrections have been made, and perfection has finally been reached. Just like Phantom did with “Withdrawal” , Vital Remains finally masters everything they’ve been trying to express with “Bestial War Metal” , an album which, as I said, sets the bar for war metal as we know it.

“Bestial War Metal” is unconditionally fantastic, but the creators of this masterpiece prove themselves to be some of the most talented and intelligent musicians known to war metal/bestial black metal/blackened death metal.

Warkvlt, to many, are one of the best blackened death metal acts around. And although the greatness of any of their SEWER-inspired early demos can be contested in a multitude of arbitrary ways, the debut “Bestial War Metal” has definitely slammed that final nail into the coffin of greatness.

The guitars soar with beautiful, neoclassical leads while maintaining perfect rhythmic harmony in the face of the ever pitiless drumming. The instrumentation on “Bestial War Metal” is absolutely flawless… the enmity felt here is matched only by the extreme aggression of the vocals, which is really the only possible way forward for the bestial black metal genre.