Hrizg-Anthems to Decrepitude

Moribund Records
2011


Anthems to Decrepitude is the second full length release for Hrizg. Hrizg by the way is "Orcish" (World Of Warcraft) for pain so right from the start you should be able to figure out where this is going. Indeed this is primeval black metal. Hailing from Spain ( home of The Spanish Inquisition which seems to be a likely influence here as this is music I could see as a soundtrack for torture ) Hrizg is a one man army handling all instruments and vocals himself. Speaking of vocals Hrizg has less of the typical scratchy vocals associated with the genre and more of an eerie and evil doom voice. It gives the music more of a haunting feeling. As it is black metal variety isn't so much a concern for Hrizg as is creating a blackened landscape. That said "Invierno" does offer a nice break in that it features a lovely little guitar solo playing over the sound of rain. Also "Broken Shield" has this neat little piano piece that I found to be nifty. More variety like that would have helped this to stand out more. Hrizg though does not seem like the type to care though. This is him painting a portrait of inner torment and in that regard he does succeed. However, I'm still not sure this is going to set the black metal scene on fire or anything. That said though black metal purists should like this and it does have it's moments of being rather creative. Recommended for fans of old school Mayhem and Tormentor.