Thursday, February 26, 2015

Pest - Blasphemy is My Throne (2002)


Sweden's Pest is an interesting band. They began doing a weak imitation of Darkthrone, among others. Over the course of their career, there have been some highs and lows, ultimately leading them to embrace an even more old school sound to which they are better suited. However, their early years were quite mediocre and this is exemplified by the 2002 E.P. Blasphemy is My Throne

The songwriting here is incredibly weak. The compositions are too lengthy and they go absolutely nowhere. The title track has a couple of riffs that could have been useful, but ended up languishing amid several generic riffs that just go nowhere. These guys are just going through the motions, knowing which notes to play but not why they need to be played or how to put it all together. There is not an ounce of darkness to be found within these songs. "Along the Path of the Fallen" is another painfully generic track that meanders along for eight minutes and accomplishes nothing. 

Side B is similarly frustrating. "Towards Desolation" features some half-decent tremolo melodies that are very reminiscent of early Burzum, but the modern studio production sort of kills the vibe. The song is then buried in an unmarked grave when things transition to a poor man's Ravishing Grimness. "Circle of Damnation's Fire" displays some of the worst Celtic Frost imitation ever heard. 

Sometimes, a band should demonstrate a bit of patience and, rather than releasing material just for the sake of getting their name out there, they should hold off until they've written songs that are worth listening to. In the case of Blasphemy is My Throne, Pest seemed overeager to release something, despite the songwriting being utterly below-average and tedious to sit through. Some bands are slow starters and these guys really should have remained in the demo stage a lot longer, because this E.P. is completely worthless.