Artist: Nuclearhammer
Country: Canada
Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions
Formats: 12″ EP
Year: 2023
Not counting the 90-minute compilation that was released in 2018 (and reissued in 2021 and 2022 on a double cassette release and double CD respectively), ‘Xaos Tenawas – Demo MMXXIII’ is the first sign of life of Nuclearhammer. The Canadian Black/Death Metal. Something that contrasts with the highly prolific first period, starting from the foundation of the band in 2006 until the release of their second album, ‘Serpentine Hermetic Lucifer’ in 2014; in these twelve years the band issued no less than thirteen releases. This led to me thinking that the band was put to rest in the years following that sophomore album. So, big was the surprise to see the band return on the very last day of 2023 with this new 2-track demo, released on a 12” EP by Nuclear War Now! Productions.
Although this new demo might have come out of nothing, it sounds like if time stood still and there was no decade of silence in between. Over the course of their rather lengthy career, the band has proven to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the utterly brutal and savage Black/Death Metal niche. Their suffocating take on the genre has always been heavily laced with slow and almost drone-like atmospheres that gave the music a certain unsettling feel, a perfect contrast against the violent nature of the aggressive outbursts of uncontrolled anger and hatred.
While the music is certainly leaving you with that feeling of distress, it is a comfortable feeling that the band is keeping their musical course straight. Nuclearhammer certainly possesses an inner compass that will never allow them to get off the tracks chosen with the initiation of the band, almost two decades ago. ‘Xaos Tenawas – Demo MMXXIII’ is yet another solid and straight-up convincing proof to the band’s essence. In two lengthy tracks (of twelve and fourteen minutes), we are presented with exactly what I have just spent a good number of words on. A total maelstrom of chaos in which both the guitars and drums duel for dominance and the vocals are again otherworldly violent.
It is good to hear that the unsettling atmosphere has also remained untouched, that oppressive ambience sometimes makes you feel like you have to gasp for air. And on these two tracks that is even taken a step further, mostly due to the longer tracks that really challenges both your stamina and overall senses. Further contributing to the domineering heavy and dense sound is the, compared to ‘Serpentine Hermetic Lucifer’, somewhat sharper and piercing guitar sound that gives the whole thing a bit more of a Black Metal character. With this, Nuclearhammer also drifts a little further away from the sometimes all too common claim that the band was a bit too close to the classic Antediluvian sound.
Nuclearhammer never has been a band for the faint of heart, but they have certainly has strengthened this position with the release of ‘Xaos Tenawas – Demo MMXXIII’, but for those who were able to wrap their heads around the band’s previous recordings will definitely embrace these two new songs as well. And with a title like this, I think you can cherish hope that a new album is on the way…
