Balmog – Vacuum (Review)

Balmog are a Spanish black metal band and this is their third album.

Balmog play the kind of black metal that’s dark and violent, but with the depth and substance of something much more sinister and blackly majestic.

This is some good stuff. Balmog’s music strikes the right balance between savage blackened hatred and esoteric grandeur. I’d say it’s about 70% the former and 30% the latter, overall.

Mostly fast and furious, these parts are added to by more atypical sections/riffs/etc., making for an interesting and engaging listen that can rip your face off one moment, while terrifying you with occult atmosphere the next. A promo blurb made comparisons to the work of Watain and Deathspell Omega, and I think that’s fair, although Balmog certainly have their own nefarious personality.

These songs are fierce and threatening, and I keep coming back to the fact that the band have managed to release an album that largely balances aggression and grim, otherworldly atmosphere so well that it makes you wonder what infernal pacts they have made. Some of the riffs on here really make the hairs stand on end. When the band lock in on a good groove, a ripping blasting section, or a less-standard form of blackened chaos, you can truly believe that black metal can be considered the most dangerous form of music out there.

Impressive, scary, intimidating, and infectious. Vacuum stands strong and proud, wrapped in occult energies and swirling darkness.

A highly recommended act of worship for adherents of the dark arts.