Formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2010, SPITE is a "raw desecration Black Metal" band. "Antimoshiach" is their debut full-length, album, which contains eight tracks. From the Bandcamp page, the album follows a story: "In the tenth year of Satan's millennium, the temple of Spite began its erection. Three warnings from the depths have been issued: a demonstration of the rites of desecration, an exhibition of countless blasphemy, and a declaration of the binding of the lord in the pentagram's grasp. The seventh horn has now sounded and the Devil's minyan is ready to carry the Antimoshiach across the continents of Earth to spread the abominations of Hell. Evil satanic war awaits the world. Huddled together, ye lambs, and whimper at the coming of the Antimoschiach."

"The Devil's Minyan" leads off the album, in a traditional Black Metal assault. The instrumentation is full and the vocals are nothing short of incensed rage. "The Shield of Abraham" follows perhaps a little more of a linear riff pattern. In the Hebrew bible, God himself was the shield of Abraham, when he granted him victory over the four kings who had kidnapped his nephew, Lot. The grandiosity of the story is reflected in some of the regal sounds we can hear in this song. "Merkabah" is the divine light, used to connect with people in higher realms. "Vision of the Merkabah" is a chaotic affair at times, but also settles into a more straight lined rhythm to tell the tale. The vocals aim to dial up the evil as much as possible.

"Second Death" might refer to the slaying of God, or Jesus in his image, as part of the story of the Antimoshiach. Hard accents from the drums keep the timing of the song moving forward quickly, amidst the flurry of various guitar riffs. "Upon Funeral Stone" is the first song where you can catch your breath...a bit. An atmospheric opening leads to a mid-tempo riff that is easier to follow. There are still those fast picked sections and the general ominous sounding passages that point to the gravity of the story. "The Hope (of Coming Armageddon)" is a shorter, transitional track that reflects the foreboding of the Antimoshiach.

"Antimoshaich" is upon us now. This eight minute foul beast closes the album and completes the story. It has a funeral dirge type of rhythm that speaks of a changing of the guard on Earth, very matter-of-fact in its approach. Overall, I enjoyed the album, and found it very much within the early traditions of the genre, but perhaps without too much "noise" that can accompany a lot of Black Metal. The story was clear, and the band did a nice job connecting the roots within the music. It wasn't anything ground breaking, but an honest effort to convey a distinct and significant tale through the medium of music.