Album Review: Anaal Nathrakh - A New Kind Of Horror

Anaal Nathrakh formed with the sole intention of creating a soundtrack to the apocalypse. The apocalypse has lasted ten albums now, and in Anaal Nathrakh's hands it still sounds as imminent as ever - if not more so, all geopolitical things considered.

A New Kind Of Horror is titled as such because the band felt that this is exactly what the music on it is. The newness is mostly in the fine details though - such as the Ork-army-mobilising trombone blasts on The Reek Of Fear - so long-time Armageddon followers will recognise much of the band’s spirit and sound. The pace and fury are typically Nathrakhian; unrelenting and piteous, not least when they contemplate the pointless slaughter of WWI on Are We Fit for Glory Yet? (The War To End Nothing). One could claim that some elements such as the occasional tortured falsetto might be a tad over the top, but if subtlety or understatement is what you came for, Anaal Nathrakh will leave you empty-handed every time. With this band you can be sure their fire will burn fiercely until the bitter, all-consuming end.