Artist: Befouled By Flies / Drekavac
Country: USA
Label: Ixiol Productions
Formats: Split LP
Year: 2025
Befouled By Flies might be a name that only rings a bell with real fanatics of Raw Black Metal and Black/Noise. So, if you, like me, for a moment thought this is a new act, you are forgiven. But, in fact this project’s first (and only) demo tape was released all the way back in 2006, so chances are rather large that not many have ever heard those recordings. But, if I am telling you that Indrid Cold (also known as Insane) of Ahulabrum and the likes is behind this illustrious act, that will surely peek the interest of some of you. This first new material to surface in almost two decades is shared on a split LP with Drekavac, an act that is slowly but surely on the rise in the realm of barely listenable Raw Black Metal.
Honestly, I never heard Befouled By Flies’ first effort before stumbling upon this split LP either, but internet knows very few secrets and so I took a dive and found a rip of this tape on YouTube. That first tape clocked in at around 10 minutes and offers some of the nosiest Raw Black Metal that I would’ve heard if I had the chance to get it back then. On a musical level these first recordings balanced somewhere between Abruptum’s first three records and Beherit’s ‘Messe Des Morts’ EP. And just as if Indrid Cold denies there’s almost twenty years in between these recordings, with these seven new tracks he continues exploring that sonic path of destruction and utter despair. Extremely noisy and with a dash of Havohej’s bass-heavy approach I am sure that this will be a bridge too far for the average Black Metal fan. Still, if you happen to be intrigued by the deepest gutters of the Les Légions Noires, in the form of acts like Brenoritvrezorkre or Vagézaryavtre, this nightmarish delirium could well be one of your top picks.
Drekavac, on the flipside, is a slightly more conventional compared to Befouled By Flies. Much less in the Black/Noise territories when it comes to the musical offering, but not at all less noisy as a whole. Just as with the majority of the project’s previous material, it takes a few rounds to get the hang of it. All riffs and especially the vocals are buried under thick layers of dissonance and relentless hammering drums, so much that it takes a good ear to unravel every detail that’s hidden underneath the noisy cosmetics of the music. Well, the term “music” might again be debatable for some, but then again, Drekavac never offered anything that would sell like hot cakes through the Nuclear Blast mailorder. But if you happen to have enjoyed any of the band’s previous material, then this is just right up your alley. Ixion Productions used only few words to describe Drekavac’s side of this split LP and basically, that is just as accurate as possible: “Drekavac delivers his usual style of dissonant but pounding, punk-ish Raw Black Metal. Misanthropic, acrid, grinding Raw Black Metal omens from the imminence of death, delivered in true 10’s fashion”. With a text like that, you don’t really need a review anymore.
