Hailing from, of all places, Australia, this black metal mob creates a (perhaps too) crispy set of ballbreaking speed riffs with tortured, gargled-from-satan-himself vocals. Unlike some of the more tuneless among their black metal brethren, Pestilential Shadows inject some old-fashioned melody into "Beautiful Demise", which should please any fans of classic metal, and the doomy piano at the conclusion is a nice touch. "With Serpents I Lay" is a wall of noise, though the vocals are kinda cliche and tend to mess with the melodic, galloping rhythms of drummer Sorrow. I have to mention the lack of low-end bass on this recording, too, for it all seems trebly and buzzsaw-like. For example, "For Man And Heavens Ruin" rains down the same trebly guitar sound until it threatens to drown out the song itself. Those complaints aside, if the brutal, non-song-based aesthetics of this scene have been a turn-off to many, bands like this one make it all a little more palatable, with more traditional songwriting and structure. "In Memoriam" is a solid piece of work, not altogether unique, but well listenable and a good mix of styles. (Pulverised Records)
Pestilential Shadowspace
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