Arrogant Destruktor – Written In Blood From The Blade (Awakening Records. 2023).

Arrogant Destruktor – Written In Blood From The Blade (Awakening Records. 2023).



Arrogant Destruktor have returned with an album that is a merciless, all-out assault. As soon as you hit play, you are savaged by the opening song Dirt and Ruin. High speed, relentless, and sadistic, the only respite being brief, more mid-paced sections, such as that found around 00:02:18. The rest of the album continues in this vein, with the only real respite being the instrumental Mourning The Lost Symphonies, a spacey song that, to me at least, has a more alien atmosphere akin to that in the Beherit song Nuclear Girl. The album is not all fire and fury, with there being sections that evoked a greater sense of sorrow and mourning, such as in the song The Brand. Nonetheless, the album is possessed by a sense of fire, energy, and glory. Their Hellenic influences are very noticeable not just by their cover of Necromatia’s Shaman (which fits perfectly with the rest of the album), but with the chorus on The Snarling Jaws Of Wolves which reminds me a lot of early Rotting Christ. One of the joys of the album has been the use of synths to help accentuate the emotion and atmosphere of certain sections of songs. These are not overpowering or bombastic, but more subtle, more in the background but still noticeable and definitely adding something extra to the music. A fantastic example of this is around 00:02:45 in the second song Bestial Ritual, where it enhances the feeling of ethereal majesty. The overall production on the album is fantastic, with the buzzsaw guitars sounding vicious, the drums are clear, and the aforementioned synths. Arrogant Destruktor are a band well-deserving of their name from their live performances alone (hence why I keep asking them to play Worcester), and their past efforts were killer, Thrash-infused Black Metal onslaughts that would leave you with whiplash. However, they have continued to advance and improve, and Written In Blood From The Blade is a must buy for fans of old-school Black Metal. Make sure to buy this and to experience it live, especially if you are able to commute to Worcester.

8/10.

Bandcamp link.
Facebook link.

See also:
Arrogant Destruktor interview.