BOOK OF BLACK EARTH – the feast

Seattle’s Book of Black Earth formed out of the smoldering ash of Teen Cthulhu in 2003. A demo was recorded and eventually they hooked up with Portland’s Fall of the Bastards for a split album. The Feast is the first full length album for Book of Black Earth. Punishing blackened death metal (or deathened black metal if you prefer) is the order of the day. Subtle and unintrusive keyboard strains give an epic and vast quality to the memorably brutal songs on display. Vocalist TJ Cowgill’s menacing guttaral delivery coupled with the assault of Joe Axeler’s (Skarp) double bass-drum march propel the songs to sit comfortably alongside far more experienced and noteworthy bands in the genre. And unlike most death metal, the Feast is precise and over soon enough to leave you wanting much, much more.