Anaal Nathrakh - The Codex Necro (2001)

Nearly eleven years after its release, who'd have thought Birmingham, England based blackened grind band, Anaal Nathrakh would have achieved such a following, been as prolific or even started playing live semi-regularly, especially having sworn in the beginning they'd never hit the stage. That second part leads me to somewhat of an amusing story as I recall back in early days of this albums release some chap on a forum had asked who we'd like to see live and having been quite obsessed with this record at the time you can imagine who I picked. Somehow my very comment roused the ire of some dipshit who in turn left me a long comment on how these guys would never amount to jack fucking squat and how music like this would rightly die and fade away eternally in favor of something more traditional, like the dudes Manowar cover band (or something, can't recall exactly).

Obviously he was wrong since I saw Anaal Nathrakh perform live this summer and also with the band set to release their seventh album in a few weeks he was way off, but before that let's go back to 2001 and talk about their debut, 'The Codex Necro.'

Nice boys

My initial introduction to Anaal Nathrakh came slightly before this albums release when by chance I downloaded the bands cover of, 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' and of course already admiring the the song I had to know more about this oddly named band covering it. Released on November 27th of '01, I'd bet most were surprised by this band, especially since they were British and the simple fact that they brought one of the most sonically dismantling sounds imaginable to the world through its release.

As the light ambiance of, 'The Supreme Necrotic Audnance' ushers in the band, it feels as if a storm of hate is gathering and when these clouds of cyclonic drums, lightening quick guitars and hellish shrieks explode you know you're in for a blast. 'When Humanity Is Cancer' opens a bit more mid-tempo with some admittedly catchy riffs before cascading into aural fucking madness, the song has a lead in the middle followed by a clever sample that's absolutely headbanging and energetic in character. 'Submission is for the Weak' is equally powerful with such a commanding presence it utterly obliterates the listener, while 'Pandemonic Hyperblast' is quite simply put, fucking insane. The chaos ensues through 'Paradigm Shift - Annihilation,' which has a bit more of a hypnotic touch through all the discordant blasting, though there's a break mid-way through for a sample as well as some industrial beats, likewise, 'The Technogoat' opens with a sample from the movie, 'Event Horizon,' specifically the death orgy scene or whatever the fuck that was, before unleashing a relentless chunk of solid black metal, though the song moves towards a doom-ier pace near the end with frighteningly exceptional results. The last three songs are equally awesome, with the title track definitely being one the bands all-time highlights.

Anaal Nathrakh were one of those bands that in a lot of ways defied convention within the black metal scene not just through their dark industrialized take on black metal, but also through the simple fact that they never had a typical black metal image either. Sure, bands like Satyricon, DHG, Thorns, Sirius and Zyklon were all treading similar musical ground, but I've always felt that these British lads nailed it on the head with this one. Through the bands infusion of grindcore callousness and deadly blackened death metal with industrial vibes they created a masterpiece with, 'The Codex Necro,' and although they've had many admirable releases since, I still feel that this one stands the test of time as their darkest, most nihilistic and savage statement to date.