Preserving the physical format of the cassette is one thing but preserving the purity in the sound of old-school black metal is something all the more special.

Such is the case in our offering for today. We have Consuming The Soul from US black metal band AKASHA. Released on digital and very limited edition cassette.

Consuming The Soul contains 6 tracks of purely scathing old-school 1st/2nd wave black metal. Remember the sound of those obscure LPs; those forgotten treasures you’d find in the corner of an old record store? That’s the grade of purity we have in this sound. Think of Mayhem’s Deathcrush or those small label gems.

From point A to point B, AKASHA creates a creepy, crusty but mesmerizing vibe capable of evoking vampiric spirits. One of the magical hallmarks of this release can be found in the track “Bloodspell.” You can just imagine the needle hitting that groove while the layered guitars create captivating paths. The vocals are performed and mixed like the voice of someone slowly being buried alive; completely appropriate for this music and vibe. But a track like “Bloodspell” shows a mixture of tremolo speed riffing and mid-paced changes that keep the listener’s attention. Before you know it, you are left wanting more by the end of track 6. But those drawn-out riffs in the slower parts with the single notes create a really unique and again, mesmerizing feel.

The music is very raw but not to the point of sounding like it was recorded with FisherPrice walkie-talkies (i.e. “Goatlord”) Again, it’s that old LP purity. “Moonlite RituHell” is another highlight as it features Lord II of BYYRTH. Musically this track is slightly reminiscent of 90s thrash greats like Coroner (who, to this editor, were criminally underrated) but at times with slightly more speed. The album closes out with a creepy, windy almost ritualistic atmosphere similar to the opening.

I’m excited for the cassette release because of the purity in this sound. A vinyl release would be amazing.

Consuming The Soul is available from Grey Matter Productions on June 22. Cassette edition is limited to 50 so snatch one up. Digital edition is available as well.

https://greymatternoise.bandcamp.com/album/consuming-the-soul

https://www.facebook.com/akashausbm/

https://www.facebook.com/greymatterproductions/

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