Suffering comes from Poland and it is a new name for me. The band was formed in 2007 by Armagedon (vocals/bass) and Astaroth (guitar) and they had some troubles with their first drummer, what has delayed their first recordings to appear. Only in 2012 they were able to find a drummer (Exernus, who is also in the mighty Besatt, as well as Astaroth) and record their first demo (Frozen faith) and now they come with their debut EP, called Chaosatanas, containing 6 tracks of intense and orthodox Black Metal.

In this case, what I call orthodox is that basic formula developed by the Nordic bands of the 90’s: extreme fast and high-pitched guitars, riffs that seem to “run” along the drums, high-pitched agonizing screams, blast beats combined with some mid/slow-paced drumming a la Bathory in its viking era and a strong evil imagery (corpse painting included, of course) associated with satanic lyrics. In general, this description may sound good to every Black Metal fan, but I have to say that, despites being a good record, Chaosatanas offers a product that may delight exclusively these Black Metal fanatics, since it does not present anything original in terms of music. Indeed, I think this is their goal: simply making a cold and obscure Black Metal without any claim to bring a new approach to the genre.

This can be good or bad, depending on the point of view you prefer to follow. Thus, for the more traditional listeners, this EP may be fuckin’ awesome, with a powerful evil music that creates the perfect atmosphere for any occult ritual, conveying a deep message of hate against God and the church and spreading its dark melodies over the world to finish with mankind; the more open-minded and unorthodox listeners, however, may find that Chaosatanas is a regular album, lacking the creativity and inventiveness that is typical to the most avantagarde stuff of the same genre.

As for the music itself, Suffering shows that aggressiveness that marks the genre since its first appearance. All the songs follow the same way of doing Black Metal, as I said before, but I think that Leviathan rises kind of sums up their musical proposal, bringing all the elements present in their sound: fast guitars and drums, followed by some sinister slow tempos perfect for depression and melancholy. Frozen faith and Suicide for Satan are good too, as well as I am the existence, a true celebration of agony and personal anguish in form of music.

So, in general, Chaosatanas is a good work, despite sounding too regular and common, without going beyond the average Black Metal album. For fans of the genre, probably, Suffering will meet their expectations exactly for following the basic scheme, but for more critical and demanding minds, maybe this release will not cause any impression at all, besides facing the risk of falling into oblivion in a scene full of more innovative proposals. Summing up, this is a good release, but it lacks more creativity.

CRISTIANO PASSOS