photos by Brandon Corsair
As Seattle, Washington-based blackened death metal quartet PLAGUE BEARER prepares for the Nameless Grave Records release of their debut LP Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation, Decibel Magazine delivers the lead single to the monstrous record, today premiering “Antichristian Inquisition.”
Born on the wings of pestilence out of a thirty-year slumber, PLAGUE BEARER is primarily known as a primitive blackened Satanic brother long-running act Drawn And Quartered. The band has produced a string of underground demos and EPs over the years but never committed to a definitive full-length until now. Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation delivers a devastating triple-pronged vocal assault supported by brutal melodic riffing and pummeling drums heralding the end of this pathetic existence.
The production of Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation is clear without being sterile, allowing every instrument to freely breath and speak. Guitars, bass, and vocals were self-engineered at K.S. Kuciemba’s home studio The Plague Pit, while drums were recorded with Jon Schluckebier at Radioactive Recording. Mixing duties were handled by Andrew Lee (Ripped To Shreds) who contributed a guest solo on “Rise Of The Goat,” the album was mastered by Loic Fontaine of Krucyator Productions, and the record was completed with cover art by Thomas Westphal/Necromaniac and layout by Obscure Visions.
With the new single, the band proclaims, “PLAGUE BEARER brings ‘Antichristian Inquisition.’ Goat age death/black metal assault upon all that is holy. Satan chaos commands persecution of the faithful.”
Decibel writes with the song’s debut, “It’s a wretched, unrelenting assault of hellish death metal with sick and twisted vocal utterances and sulfurous guitar pyrotechnics. Not a bad way to introduce/reintroduce the band after so many years.”
Stream PLAGUE BEARER’s “Antichristian Inquisition” first at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.
Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation will be released on LP, CD, and digital formats through Nameless Grave Records on March 3rd. Preorders have been issued through the label’s webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
Stand by for additional audio previews of the album to be issued over the weeks ahead.
PLAGUE BEARER in its most primordial form created death metal demos in 1993 and 1994, but lineup changes resulted in a rebranding to Drawn And Quartered in 1996. Nevertheless, guitarist K.S. Kuciemba (Drawn And Quartered, Draghkar, Serpent Rider) was determined to keep the Satanic flame alive, slowly amassing simpler, eviler blackened riffs with partner H (Drawn And Quartered, ex-Vetus Obscurum), releasing a demo in 2001 and EP in 2006 with Nuclear Winter Records. In 2017, K and H reunited with longtime ally T on drums, along with vocalist Nihilist (ex-Abazagorath, ex-Lord Gore, ex-Thy Infernal), to infect the Pacific Northwest with live rituals.
While Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation is laden with the legacies of its storied members, it never loses its individuality. Existing beyond the stylistic trappings of death and black metal, PLAGUE BEARER raises a middle finger to the modern scene. Evil is the only way! The album is a must-hear for fans of Drawn And Quartered, Imprecation, Thy Infernal, and Fallen Christ.
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