Monday, June 4, 2018

Video Review: INTROSPECTION The Nihilist by Dave Wolff

The Nihilist (Official Lyric Video)
Taken from their upcoming full length Nihilistic Hatred
Place of origin: Brazil
Genre: Black/death metal
Produced by Virghon & Empirical Lab Productions
Release date: June 3, 2018
If you’ve been keeping up with this Brazilian band on Facebook you’ll have read their recent announcement that recording, mixing and mastering for their new full length Nihilistic Hatred has been completed. The new album's title is based on Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and Fyodor Dostoevsky's Demons; the cover art is based on the latter novel. The cover art (designed by Alexander Agantaev under the direction of Introspection founding member Virghon) has been posted at the band's Facebook profile, though as far as I know no official release date has been disclosed yet. The Nihilist is the second of two clips released on Youtube to promote the new album; the first is the title track. These two songs are more straightforward than I remember them last, besides being much rawer and much more extreme. Would it be too bold a statement to mention Swedish black metal in the same breath as Introspection? The raw quality is similar, as is the sacrilegious theme of the lyrics. There is the appropriate amount of distortion here, but the riffs and vocals are not affected to where everything is a blur. A seasoned ear can make it all out without much effort. If this is your first time hearing of Introspection, it would be too easy to take their irreverent message at face value. Still, you may want to read their 2015 interview and read reviews of their album Anthropophagic Father and song Cultural War before you decide what to make of this track. Those articles would give you a complete view of their position on organized religion, given Brazil’s current economic and political climate. The country has been in turmoil for years; and the metal and punk scenes have been a by-product of said turmoil. From what I gather things are so intense it makes the social, economic, political and religious unrest in the States seem like a walk in the park. The Nihilist reflects their environment in a manner people would consider harsh and unforgiving, but after corresponding with them I’m convinced it comes from a real desire to overcome oppression, and change their society for the better. Not to offend or show how blasphemous they can be. This being said, take into consideration what fuels the band’s nihilism as they reject the imposition of religious values from without in favor of accepting their own individuality. Of course, from a fan’s viewpoint the song is caustic and crushing, and appeals to the listener on a primal level. It aims for the jugular and doesn’t quit until the walls and floor are drenched in blood. -Dave Wolff

Band lineup
Virghon: All vocals, guitars and bass
P. Wilard: Session drummer


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