Album review: UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN – Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath

November 21st, 2014 by Yiannis

Iron Bonehead – Out Now.

If you were to ask me to name one good reason why I chose to review the third studio release of the Death Metal quartet Unaussprechlichen Kulten my response would be that I find the idea of a Chilean band adopting a fairly complicated Germanic name a very intriguing thing indeed.

I had absolutely no clue what the Santiago-based outfit was about prior to being given access to “Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath”, so you could say that when I finally decided to give the nine compositions on offer the first good spin, I did so with a clear head and an open mind.

The end result, though far from being described as innovative or original in nature, was reasonably appealing to me as the riffs and melodies on offer are massively influenced by those of band’s like Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy and Pestilence – band’s whose works, to this day, hold prominent position in my record/CD collection.

Deep Death Metal growls, heavy riffs, drum parts of various themes and tempos…all the ingredients needed to put together a decent Death Metal album are there. What was clearly missing, and hopefully will be addressed and dealt with in the band’s future releases as all the signs clearly suggest, is the ability to utilise and combine these elements in a way that will enable the members of Unaussprechlichen Kulten develop a style unique to them.

Following a short dark/futuristic into the album finally kicks off with “The Hooded Baphomet Bleated” – a slow Death Metal composition founded upon a generic riff that, though decent in execution, lacks the passion and energy needed to help the album build a healthy momentum.

Things improve significantly with the Cannibal Corpse influenced duet “La Recta Provincia” / “Yogge-Sothothe” while the truly inspiring “Ceremony Of Belial” to concludes the first part of the album through an array of Pestilence-influenced lead guitar passages and Jeff Hanneman (Slayer – R.I.P) styled solos.

The second half of the album may not fare as well in comparison, yet songs like “Kadath In The Cold Waste” are compositionally fairly promising indeed while both “Nomen Mysticum” and “Spirals Of Acrid Smoke” are reasonably entertaining affairs.

The three minute “Epilogie” is far from the ideal ending to the album but, by this stage, you are expected to already have decided whether you are willing to give “Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath” another chance or not, so no real harm is done.

As far as low budget underground Death Metal albums are concerned, “Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath” is one of the most reasonably sounding releases that I have come across in recent years.

Thought, thematically, the compositions on offer do become a tad predictable/generic at times, they still manage to create a feeling of warmth and familiarity for the average Death Metal fan to connect with and that is what will potentially make it an attractive proposition for the fans of the said scene.

John Stefanis

Rating: *** (3.0/5.0)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)