Malkuth — Sefirah Gevurah

2009’s release from Hospital Productions bestows on us the 2nd full length creation from New York’s Malkuth.  Only a short 36 minutes in total, but what a raw and brutal time span it is.  Touching on influences such as Finnish bands Horna and Beherit, early Mayhem and bits of Antaeus, the band makes music that is excruciatingly bare and melodic at the same time.

To start out, this is pure Black Metal in its most harsh form.  Yet within that form is music that is moody, dark and emotional.  Vocals are straight ahead scream/ guttural screech that fits the genre so well.  Just when the fierce drumming and expressive vocals seem too much, the tremolo guitar kicks in to create some crushingly heavy moments.  The rhythms are memorable and the music, while it is vicious in its attack, is anything but simple, bordering more on the complex and intricate.

It seems that a lot of emotion and thinking went into crafting “Sefirah Gevurah”.  From the Kabbalistic titles and song lyrics, to the music composed.  Few places on the web were found to read about the band (MySpace, Hospital Productions site, and Metal Archives), and that’s kind of a shame.  For a band that has obviously put much time and effort into their art, it would be interesting to hear their views and inspirations to what they have created.