Album Review: A.M.S.G. Anti-Cosmic Tyranny

Back in the 1980's Satan was everywhere in the United States. A confederacy of dunces consisting of law enforcement agencies, the media and pearl clutching housewives saw Old Scratch and his dastardly minions in every nook and cranny of society. According to these overzealous clowns a glorified board game played largely by awkward nerds was a gateway to witchcraft and daycare centers across the country were actually fronts for Satanic cults who ritually abused and sacrificed children to their dark master.But the biggest target of these delusional moral crusaders was heavy metal. During the so-called Satanic Panic of the 80's metal albums were destroyed, the PMRC was formed to investigate rock and metal's sinister, youth-corrupting influence, and Ozzy Osborne and Judas Priest were both dragged before the court and charged with what amounted to subliminal murder.These days, even the lily-whitest of conservative soccer moms wouldn't bat an eye at the overwrought theatricality of King Diamond or the campy lyrics of Venom. In this post-Mayhem age, 20 years removed from the murders and iconoclastic vandalism that marked the second wave of black metal, is it still possible to shock and offend people? On Anti-Cosmic Tyranny, Canada's one man black metal project, A.M.S.G., is certainly trying.

A.M.S.G., or Ad Majorem Satanae Gloriam (for the greater glory of Satan), is the brainchild of Angelfukk Witchhammer who wrote the entire album while serving time in Canadian prison for selling drugs and guns in order to finance his various black metal bands. So right there A.M.S.G. have more evil cred than most, if not all, contemporary black metal bands. Witchhammer describes A.M.S.G. as “Holocaustik Canadian Terrorist Black Metal” and seems like the type of guy who refers to his gigs as "live rituals".

Whether or not you enjoy Anti-Cosmic Tyranny is probably going to depend largely on how seriously you take black metal. The Trve Kvltists, those humorless grumps who revere orthodoxy, will likely enjoy this album for its tinny production and confrontational, up-with-Satan lyrics. Purists may take issue with A.M.S.G.'s minor excursions into experimentation courtesy of the saxophone solos on "Black Rites of Black Shadows" and "Gnosis Granted From the Bloodline of Fire", but no more than a Nachmystium fan might take issue with Anti-Cosmic Tyranny's anemic production value and Angelfukk Witchhammer's croaked recitations of Satanic esoterica that pass for lyrics.

Anti-Cosmic Tyranny is an undeniably ugly album. The guitar rattles around like a broken chainsaw, Angelfukk  Witchhammer's voice sounds like Golem from Lord of the Rings, and the the nigh total lack of low-end frequency makes A Blaze In the Northern Sky sound like a dubstep album by comparison. But, underneath the thick layer of filth and slime, there's a core melodicism that's hard to ignore. "Sacrificial Chants of Cosmic Separation" is a maelstrom of blast beats, scuzzy guitars and croaked vocals, but the ugliness is tempered by segments of classically influenced guitar parts. Then there are the aforementioned jazz-fusion saxophones throughout the album. Every track on Anti-Cosmic Tyranny splits the difference between chaotic fury and catchy melodies fairly evenly, and that dichotomy keeps the album from being completely abrasive.

Witchhammer's whole mission with A.M.S.G. seems to be as vehemently anti-Christian as possible. That's not surprising considering that's been the point if all his other bands as well (Gloria Diaboli, Ouroboros, Invoking the Worm), but 45 minutes of esoteric occult rambling gets old. Satanism and the occult has been a mainstay in heavy metal from the beginning, but, in 2013, this level of overt Satanic lyrical content is silly. Songs like "Reincarnation of the Sun" and "Bone, Blood and Blackthorn" are basically the diabolical versions of "Our God Is An Awesome God" and "Jesus Freak". Anti-Cosmic Tyranny is a decent enough album, but to fully appreciate it the listener probably needs to be the Bizarro World version of an evangelical Christian. A Satangelical.

All things considered, this is a solid LP is you don't mind lo-fi production, croaked vocals and B-horror movie lyrics. At times it can be hard to distinguish the songs from parodies of black metal songs, but like a lot of heavy metal, it's still possible to enjoy the music without taking it completely seriously.