Frost Eternity "Demo '23" Cassette

Clear tape with sticker, limited to 88 hand numbered copies Recorded in May-June 2023.
Nefarious - Guitars.
Lord Necronansy - Drums, Vocal

I listened to this as a palate cleanser after some truly obnoxious TikTok "black metal" and believe me when I say this was exactly what I needed to wash the taste out.
On offer here are three hymns of resolute hatred and absolute blackness. Nothing here is tight or clean, nothing is polished, nothing is melodious or easy on the ears - just an assault of unrelenting blast beats (full-force, moderate pace - no jazz-soft ghost notes on the snare or chops-flaunting Moeller method stick wizardry) and Transilvanian Hunger-worshiping minor-key tremolo riffing. The vocals are vicious and throat-rending, seemingly doing almost as much damage to the mic as to the vocalist's larynx. All this is perfectly suited to my tastes in the genre and makes for a terrific first impression.
As is often the case with these kinds of raw, brutish black metal bands, there is a tendency to hammer out certain riffs a bit past the point of interest; this, coupled with the complete lack of drumbeat variety, can grow a bit tiresome. Still, the riffs are good and I'd rather a band focus on what they do best than try and fail to add parts ill-suited to their style and strengths.
Of the three mid-length tracks here, "Odwet nienawiści" is the strongest - this too is a boon to the overall quality of the tape as it ends at its peak. The guitar style on the track is more or less in keeping with that of the other songs but the actual chords and melody deviate ever-so-slightly from the same few chords and intervals, at least in the repeated main riff. It's the best-structured of the three as well, at least from my cursory first listens. I will always bitch about a fadeout ending, especially on a closing track, but at very least it doesn't overstay its welcome.
Worshipers of true unholy black metal, take heed. I look forward to hearing more from Frost Eternity.