Artist: Orgy Of Carrion / Vulnakkthra
Country: USA
Label: Perverse Homage
Formats: Split CDR
Year: 2025
Over the years Orgy Of Carrion has always been a bit of an enigma when it comes to their musical identity. While always dwelling in the rougher dimensions of the Black Metal genre, they have been able to surprise with their output. Sometimes they are rougher than a barbed wired anal fistfuck, but the next time they go into rather traditional territories. And when it comes to split they’ve always had a great taste in partnering up with like-minded quality acts. This newest addition to the ever-growing Orgy Of Carrion discography is no exception in the music that’s on offer and their partner for this split.
The first three tracks are Orgy Of Carrion’s and again show their craftsmanship. As I’ve pointed out a few time before already, in their over a decade long career Orgy Of Carrion has made quite a transition musically. Starting out as a thoroughly rawer than raw kind of Lo-Fi Black Metal band, but along the way, which is especially noticeable with their most recent releases, they have been finding a more almost classic sort of take on the Raw Black Metal genre. And, frankly, these three new tracks are the most melodic and traditional the duo has ever put forth. Still that has to be seen and taken in a certain perspective. It should be clear that we are not listening to Vargrav or anything similar. The riffing is still raw, but the overall composition is not plastered with reverb and distortion, instead, Orgy Of Carrion comes closest to real songs here than they ever did before. While they didn’t abandon their stomping, savage rhythms and harsh vocals, it is the riffs and the entirety of their song writing that marks the transition. Fans of the old, sonically impenetrable work may need to take a moment to digest this, but it is clear that Orgy Of Carrion is continuing along the path it has set out on.
Vulnakkthra then. That is a completely new act of which practically nothing is known about. As far as I was able to find out, it seems to be another entity around the collective of bands around Ancient Necromancy, Cult Of Thaumiel and Gharmelicht. Compared to Orgy Of Carrion, their overall sound is a little more muffled but aligns very well with what Orgy Of Carrion is setting out to achieve. Clearly more traditional in their sound and compositions, they bear resemblances with the classic European bands from the Second Wave of Black Metal. That doesn’t only include a good layer of melodicism and atmosphere, but also a steady rocking pace and buzzing riffs that harkens back to what many German Black Metal bands offered at the end of the 90’s and the early 00’s. Not very original perhaps, but very well done and with their unmistakable penchant for the youthful years of the Black Metal genre as a whole, these two tracks are very much convincing.
