Anaal Nathrakh has aged gracefully (if one finds cause to call a group whose sonic assault burns in a little-kids-forced-to-bathe-in-napalm kind of way graceful). Dave Hunt and Mick Kenney, a twosome that is quite gruesome, have tremendous chemistry; their equilibrium of unrelenting musical agony and Hunt's hellish vocals makes for a superb harmony transmitting the dark aura that is Anaal Nathrakh. The band's evolution is the real treat, as its hateful days of grinding black metal have slowly incorporated user-friendly elements without jeopardizing quality. "Desideratum" carries the fire of "Vanitas" and continues fanning the smoldering pandemonium embodied by this group's latter-day era in an analogous approach of attack. Geared to endure the endless rampage; hard and armored like any Anaal Nathrakh record.Compared to the band's venom-spewing days of "The Codex Necro," Anaal Nathrakh has opted for a more accessible production philosophy: the guitars are cleaner, the drums more synthesized, the overall mix less grainy. The songs have developed a modern knack among the project's butchering style of grinding black metal, with plenty of chorus and melody-driven structures. "Desideratum" is based on these things; an appropriate sequel to "Vanitas" that offers the strengths of this band without any ingredients added. The game has changed a bit for Anaal Nathrakh, as industrial passages and the inclusion of modern elements continue to gain ground. However, this is mostly a portrait of Hunt and Kenney sticking to what they know without screwing up what they know; Anaal Nathrakh is a sight to behold, as usual.
I'm still waiting for the day when Kenney's riffs turn stale. His death/black metal sequences, though standard fare for Anaal Nathrakh, manage to still be memorable and without a trace that he is overlapping his prior works. Robust chugs and enticing melodic parts give way to Hunt's multiple vocals styles without making the songs clogged up or redundant. The melodic guitar work is especially much more profound compared to their other works. "The One Thing Needful," "The Joystream," and "Idol" are the best tunes here, mainly due to Hunt's clean voice, which is surprisingly nice next to the slashing riffs and frenetic paces. More or less the usual Anaal Nathrakh output, but if it ain't broke, there's no reason to fix it. There are also numerous blast beats, believe it or not.
I'm not too big on the industrial bits, which I mentioned have been given a bigger piece of the pie. The electro parts change things up, but it's not like Anaal Nathrakh needs to force in larger sections of industrial influence to show how flexible they are. The prime moments of "Desideratum" are found in the typical foundations of strength within the body of Anaal Nathrakh-the slaughtering riffs, the inhuman vocals, the relentless hostility. Although this is probably the least noteworthy work of theirs, "Desideratum" shows no signs of the Anaal Nathrakh machine taking a breather. Hunt and Kenney have become one of metal's better duos, and "Desideratum" serves as another exciting chapter in their collaboration of all things vile.
Get it here.