Vehemency
After my introduction to Wrath’s music that happened via Nadiwrath’s recent debut Nihilistic Stench, Dodsferd’s sixth full-length Spitting with Hatred the Insignificance of Life took me by surprise. Sure, there’s still something childish in the overall impression that Wrath somehow seems to attach to everything he does (just look at some of the songtitles on previous records) but I can’t escape from the fact that at least this particular album has some very fine riffs on it.
Whereas Nadiwrath seems to be the punky and rocking black metal outfit of Wrath’s, Dodsferd delves - in addition to the overall harshness and rage - in murkiness and melancholy, though the rock attitude is somewhat present here as well, as the drum beats and bass lines in the beginning of ”Your Kingdom Was Built in a Lie” and solos on the title track imply. But for the most part, Spitting with Hatred... is laden with tremolo picked darkness, darkness that at times rises to almost heart-rending levels of beauty, just listen to how those steadily fired riffs burst into touching melancholy on ”The Hate Goes On” and ”Praying in Vain Under the Shrine of Your God”.
Thus said, points have to be given to the guitarwork on the album. While not every riff is of pure splendour, the quality is consistent and in spite of all reservations I have about Wrath’s music, his work here is noteworthy. Some of the tracks could do better with a slightly shorter running time (half of the six pieces pass ten minutes) but I am still not bored at any point. The production is fittingly lo-fi yet tight, and so are fitting the high-pitched screans, plus all instruments are nicely audible in the dusty soundscape. Spitting with Hatred the Insignificance of Life is a worthy even if not entirely oustanding piece of uncompromising black metal that will receive multiple spins from me in the future. Concrete rating is hanging somewhere between three and three and a half stars, if that’s something you look for in reviews.