Rating: 8.6

Country: Poland

Genre: Black/Death Metal

Record Label: Pagan Records

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. Harbinger of Evil
2. Infernal Goat Worship
3. Seeds of Doom
4. Preliminary Dirge
5. Nekromassakr: Death's Coronation
6. Die Fuckers
7. Angel Ripper
8. Manifiesto de Blasfemia
9. Natural Born Destroyers
10. Pest: Ravager of Humanity
11. Blood and Conflagration

Total playing time 35:35

Band Website: Stillborn

Stillborn - Manifiesto de Blasfemia

Killer - guitars, vocals
Ikaroz - guitars, vocals
Ataman Tolovy - bass guitar, backing vocals
August - drums

This is easily the most vicious black/death band I have heard from Poland. Like Deception even Stillborn raped my ears, but these guys did it so violently that they made them bleed. And I love having my ears fucked by them because they do it so damn well. The trick is that they have founded their music on death metal – in the sacred Polish tradition of bands such as Azarath, Anima Damnata, Hate and Throneum. With that secured, no matter how insane and noisy their music gets, it remains under control. It is kind of like a feral woman with half her body flailing out of the sunroof shrieking madly, hurling blasphemies at random people, spitting at them, trying to claw them when they get close to the speeding vehicle, when her feet are firmly held from inside by her death metal husband.

The silence is officially broken after a proclamation stating the same at the end of the blackened frenzied first track following which monstrous buzzing death metal riffs are unleashed in “Infernal Goat Worship” under the blanket of black chaos, attacking you with the fury and intensity similar to the Brazilian horde. Intimidating you into pant-wetting submission is the utterly venomous triple vocal attack, with growls, shrieks, hysterical screams flying past your ears not before singeing them, their acidic quality almost making them melt. Weak humans are likely to die out of shock or shame after the unrelenting shower of abuse, done with slavering delight by each member. The next song “Seeds of Doom” pounds you with an even more powerful riff, its horrible vibrations shaking the flesh off your body. You will be surprised to discover the music being actually quite varied and the songs intricately structured, masked that they are by the eager-to-devour chaos. Music slows down for the stomach-churning hooks and imperious riffs, but it invariably picks up after that with as much force as before if not more. Almost atypical in their formation, leads are birthed in seemingly the most convoluted parts, but they develop rapidly and emerge through them unscathed, the all-encompassing chaos close on its heels.

“Nekromassakr: Death's Coronation” is highly reminiscent of Belphegor circa Necrodaemon Terrorsathan especially with its ultra-spiteful vocal delivery. The raw, gravelly, almost unearthly production ensures that maximum damage is inflicted. It is around this time that the music undergoes a slight yet palpable change; it marks the beginning of black metal dominance, not absolute but a fairly considerable one. Especially after “Die Fuckers”, which happens to be a ripping track, the music seems to lose its bearings on the next couple of songs, with Stillborn becoming unhinged and nearly overindulging on blackened chaos. Drumming of course plays a major role in sustaining it right from its inception to the subsequent intensification. Its quality is shockingly good, and it came as a relief to know that the drummer is the same alien who performed on Preludium's latest full length. Black or death, the quality of Stillborn's riffs and the sheer intensity of their music take them through. The last two tracks with their slow and powerful moments do some damage control but by then it becomes evident that the album has a stronger first half. Even though it is 35 minutes long, it appears much longer than that. Manifiesto de Blasfemia is totally satisfying, so much so that if it were a food dish your stomach would hurt after its consumption.

Stillborn's black/death metal is of the highest order, violent and with substance. In comparison with Stillborn, counterparts Behemoth seem like a castrated, declawed and teethless puppy of a rich owner who only dresses them well. This is the real stuff and it is dizzyingly good.

July 14, 2009