Lust Hag/Reaping Fields – Prayers Unanswered – Split (Review)

This is a split between two US black metal bands, Lust Hag and Reaping Fields.

NEW LUST HAG! ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! I dunno what it is with Lust Hag, but I just can’t get enough. Actually, I know exactly what it is – it’s just absolutely killer black metal. This is a split though, and Reaping Fields, as we’ll see, are a revelation.

On this split the artist behind Lust Hag gives us two new songs – a total duration of under eight minutes, all told. And do you know what? I swear she’s just getting better and better with her music.

A Desperate Prayer is brutal, but not without melody. It’s a harsh combination that’s driven by lethal riffs and venomous screams. It’s bass-heavy, an unusual approach in the genre, yet one that pays dividends here. It sort of puts me in mind of what a drone band might sound like if they played scathing black metal.

The second and final track is Verulica Engulfed in Flames, and this song takes a more traditional approach to black metal, while still retaining the same sort of bass-driven sound. It comes across as a mix of some of Darkthrone’s more recent first wave-influence material, crossed with a far more feral contemporary blackened approach.

Like everything from Lust Hag, this is damn good stuff.

Unlike Lust hag I’m totally unfamiliar with Reaping Fields. They provide us with seven minutes of punk-fuelled black metal, spread out across three songs.

The music is short and nasty. We Ride the Night erupts forth with punk vigour and riffy energy. The vocals are acidic, and remind me of a sharper, more piercing version of the singer from Dopethrone. It’s a good song and I’m hooked from the start to the end. Love the strange, otherworldly guitar solo too.

Next up is Purified & True (Crucifying Time). Like its predecessor, it packs a lot into such a brief running time, and features a solo/lead that’s striking; it seems to jump out of the speakers and strangle you. Considering the running times, there’s a lot of compelling variety to be had across these two songs.

Reaping Fields close the split with Trembling Like the Light in Your Eyes, their longest cut here at just under three minutes. Continuing the theme of the previous two tracks, the band once more cement my opinion of them as ones to watch.

Reaping Fields are a good find. Like a mix of Minor Threat, Hellripper, and Svneatr, sort of. Basically, these songs punch above their weight, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to see what they do with a full length in the future.

So, come for Lust Hag, stay for both bands. What a top split.