Once you get past the very awesome artwork for Pseudogod's debut album "Deathwomb Catechesis" and get to the music, you'll realize that both share that same quality of excellence. This Russian horde's brand of black/death metal is not new at all as it takes influences from the usual suspects in the extreme metal spectrum in Blasphemy, Angelcorpse, Mayhem, (early) Impiety and Bathory. The main aspect of Pseudogod's music that makes it so damn good, is the dark atmosphere that is always present no matter how hard-hitting the riffs and drums are or how slow and doomy it is. The dark, bleak aura is the absolute perfect backdrop for the amount of insane riffs that come and go throughout these eight songs. "Saturnalia (The Night of the Return)" is one of the more evil tracks on here and it takes a lot of influence from the early Norwegian bands, mainly in the sinister riffage that is nothing more than simple, yet effective chord progressions. "The Antichrist Victory" is a doom-laden anthem that provides plenty of relief from the blitzkrieg early on, and "Azazel" pulls out some morbid sounding melodies and solos that creep along to raise the hair on the back of the listener's neck.
But the majority of this album revolves around the violence and destruction that you would expect from a band like Pseudogod. The opening track "Vehement Decimation" is exactly what the title says. This music is fucking intense and will pummel the listener in a similar manner to bands like Angelcorpse and Impiety. "Necromancy of the Iron Darkness" and "Malignant Spears" both follow suit while also weaving in some plodding chord progressions that provide a nice balance to the constant blasts and tremolos. The closing track "The Triangular Phosphorescence" is just epic and evil, with its terrific Bathory-like structuring and riffing at points. There really isn't a complaint that can be made about "Deathwomb Catechesis." This is just some brilliant and violent black/death of the highest caliber, so don't be surprised to see Pseudogod topping many end of the year lists with this beast.
Highlights
"Vehement Decimation"
"Malignant Spears"
"Azazel"
Final Rating
4.4/5 or 88%.