Doom Cult Commando: Das Erwachen der Schlange - EP Review
When you hear the name Doom Cult Commando you expect something nasty, something crawling out of shadows and spitting venom, which is perfect considering their debut Das Erwachen der Schlange translates as The Awakening of the Snake. This EP gives us some proper black metal full of raw, bleak, horror with just a tinge of spite.
Who They Are and What They Bring
Doom Cult Commando are new on the scene, but they wear old bones with pride. The demo runs roughly 19 minutes over four tracks on vinyl limited to 200 copies by Nomad Snakepit Productions. That limited run already sets tone: this isn’t made for casual streaming background noise. It is for the black metal purist who wants raw, ritualistic music that smells of hate and darker things.
Infernal handles vocals and guitars, Hellspawn handles drums, and there is bass too. I know bass in black metal?! What thaaaa. Their heritage in raw black metal is obvious, but they are not content to simply rehash. From the first track Wie die Fliege zum Licht onward they combine brutality with chilling atmosphere, and they use contrast not as decoration but as weapon.
The Tracks
Wie die Fliege zum Licht opens with a blow of blastbeats and vise-like guitar. The aggression is immediate. The production is raw but not sloppy and that gives it some great heaviness in the sound. You feel every rasp of the vocal, every jagged string. It sets you up for war.
Then Geist ist Alles slows slightly, though don’t mistake “slowing” for calm. It is grim, melodic in places, but still savage. The grooves here show the band can hold tension, pull back, let the darkness settle before tearing it apart again. Groovy right?!
Nach den Regeln der Schlange is longest track here. It bridges the furious and the atmospheric. It lurches between blistering drums and riffs that drag like crawling serpents. It is maybe the centrepiece because you hear what Doom Cult Commando are capable of, both the raw war metal shadows and moments of suffocating ambience.
The closing track Menschenmüll is a short but lethal burst. A closing strike to leave your ears ringing. The growls are vicious. The guitars cut sharp. It ends with no mercy, and that is satisfying.
Atmosphere, Production, Coldness
The thing I respect most here is how it doesn’t try to overproduce, and that’s how it should be damn it! The rough edges are preserved. The mix allows grit. The atmosphere creeps in; you can feel it. They could have polished this into something flat but they let the EP crackle. Whatever hiss, whatever raw reverb, it adds to the ritual.
Lyrically and vocally Doom Cult Commando sound like they want to drag you into a dungeon…or even perhaps a citadel of some kind. The German lyrics add that “oh boy what is he talking about…am I ok to show this to my neighbour” feeling.
And that’s always a great thing right?...They carry history of darkness, as though these are old curses being spoken again. The vocals shift between scathing shouts and guttural voices that seem to claw from pits.
Where It Stings
This kind of music demands patience and a taste for discomfort. If you come expecting melody, clarity or comfort you will probably leave unsatisfied, like most of the women I’ve bedded. Some of the atmosphere sections are so bleak they’ll make you shed a single tear..if you’re weak. It works for what they set out to do but for some ears it may feel punishing.
The HMC Verdict
For fans of Archgoat, Mayhem’s rawer moments, war metal intensity and second wave black metal with darkness and ritual this is territory you will want to explore. Doom Cult Commando do not merely try to be another raw black metal band. On Das Erwachen der Schlange they stake claim to darkness with both hands. They bring atmosphere and savage energy.
They evoke myths and menace. If black metal at its purest form is about confrontation then this EP confronts. It is unpolished, yes, and that’s the way we like it.
Das Erwachen der Schlange is a strong debut. It may be a demo but its impact hits like a black lung full of smoke.
Written by: Chort the Crop Infestor
“Hi, I’m Chort I infest crops and listen to Black Metal!”
