The Portuguese music scene has delivered many fine moments through the years. Porto, the undefeated city, has never surrendered to foreign powers. Porto is also the home of ANZV, Edged Circle Productions excellent new signing. Creating their own version of black metal, otherworldly and different, yet traditional. They don´t differ that much from the essence of Porto´s legacy. They to refuse to give in to the mental void, making invasion of the modern world and spirit. Portugal has a very dark musical side and combining this with the Sumerian underworld causes extra creepy, hostile and mysterious soundscapes to take place.

The album has ten songs, and “Ekur” is first, and it is indeed dark. It moves with a mid-tempo pace, plenty of low end weight and aggression, and thick harsh vocals. “Alu” has another somber and brutal sound. The two elements combine into something that triples the weight of the burden on you, and given the song qualities, it will latch onto you until the end of your days. “Sahar” has a more rousing sound, and it’s as if the subject, who has been beaten down lately, is rising up to fight. Some of the sound borders on positive, or at least, encouragement to engage. “Shamash” features more tortured and lamenting tones, like the morning fog that refuses to dissipate. Instead, it follow you around and keeps you feeling cold and numb.

“Etemenanki” has piercing treble tones out of the gate, followed by a deeper aggression and blast beat drumming. The main riff is discernable however, and not a wall of sound that often accompanies the genre. “Namtaru” has a dark and evil sound to it, almost like you are summoning the Dark Lord himself, but you aren’t prepared for what his coming will mean. “Lamashtu” is a shorter song that is fueled by rocket-like energy, and it’s as dark as the night sky. The clean vocals add to the mystique of the sound as well. “Anzu” closes the album, and the aggression evolves into a storm. Lightning…thunder…dangerous deluges, and the like.

Although many of the songs have a similar sound, there is enough to distinguish them from one another. One thing that struck me hard about the album is that there is a thick, black darkness that runs through every song. It’s like a poison that spreads to all surrounding tissue.