THE BEAST

Plague Bearer - Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation - Reviewed By Metal Digest ! Check it out here at this link: https://metal-digest.com/2023/10/12/plague-bearer-summoning-apocalyptic-devastation/

         There are those bands which happen to just release excellent albums time and again while the metal world chasing something new and shiny. One of these bands are Plague Bearer and this year has the Seattle black/death legends returning with their latest album ‘Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation’.

What the listener gets here with ‘Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation’ is an album which has that overarching assault of raw, primitive death metal whilst retaining an element of full-on black metal mysticism. This isn’t an album designed for a slow meander, this is an aggressive romp which gives the listener a full body workout. Yes ‘Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation’ is raw and visceral, but that in no way means shit. This is an excellent album of black/death metal where tracks such as ‘Decapitated Angels’, ‘Antichristian Inquisition’ and ‘Churches are in Flames’ roar with all the energy of not just Incantation and Immolation, but also Drawn and Quartered, Imprecation and Angelcorpse.

It takes a couple of listens to fully sink in, but Plague Bearer have once again hit the nail on the head with another top-quality album which is designed to not only get your stereo thumping, but also your adrenaline pumping, and any fan of this genre would do well to check this release out. Metal Digest !

Release Date: March 3rd, 2023

FFO: Drawn and Quartered, Imprecation, Thy Infernal

Location: Seattle, WA 

Born on the wings of pestilence out of a thirty year slumber, Plague Bearer rides into our diseased world with a vision of "Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation." Primarily known as a primitive blackened Satanic brother to Seattle death metal legends Drawn and Quartered, Plague Bearer have produced a string of underground demos and EPs over the years but never committed to a definitive full length until now. Nameless Grave Records presents "Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation," a devastating triple pronged vocal assault supported by brutal melodic riffing and pummeling drums heralding the end of this pathetic existence. The purpose of the band? The master of sixty hundred sixty six riffs has but one word: "Evil."

Plague Bearer in its most primordial form created death metal demos in '93 and '94, but lineup changes resulted in a rebranding to Drawn and Quartered in '96. Nevertheless, guitarist K (Drawn and Quartered, Draghkar, Serpent Rider) was determined to keep the Satanic flame alive, slowly amassing simpler, eviler blackened riffs with partner H (Drawn and Quartered, ex-Vetus Obscurum) and putting out a demo in 2001 and EP in 2006 with Nuclear Winter Records (Dead Congregation). In 2017, K and H reunited with long-time ally T on drums, along with vocalist Nihilist (ex-Abazagorath, ex-Lord Gore, ex-Thy Infernal), to infect the Pacific Northwest with live rituals. 

From the first second, the album explodes into a orgy of double bass and crawling tremolo riffs in celebration of "Unholy Black Satanic War Metal."  Although there is a clear lineage to be traced from the earliest days of extreme metal in Plague Bearer's sound, the music has slowly drifted through time untouched by modern trends. The sinister melodies of "Defiled by Sodomy" throb and groove in a hypnotic hymn to Lucifer, punctuated by stuttering double kick and cymbal flourishes. There is an unmistakable youth and vigor driving the album, and album closer "Christbane" bets it all on the stomping Satanic energy of its Venom-esque main riff.

The production of the album is clear without being sterile, allowing every instrument to freely breath and speak. Guitars, bass, and vocals were self-engineered at K's home studio The Plague Pit, while drums were recorded with Jon Schluckebier at Radioactive Recordings. Mixing duties were handled by Andrew Lee (Ripped to Shreds) at The W. Dungeon, and it was mastered by Loic of Krucyator Prod.

While "Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation" is laden with the legacies of its storied members, it never loses its individuality. Existing beyond the stylistic trappings of death and black metal, Plague Bearer raises a middle finger to the modern scene. Evil is the only way!

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Follow the band at these links: 

https://www.facebook.com/drawnandquartered
https://plaguebearerwa.bandcamp.com/album/summoning-apocalyptic-devastation
https://www.instagram.com/hailinfernaldarkness/
https://www.namelessgraverecords.com/