On September 7th, 2018, Horror Pain Gore Death Productions released the debut E.P. "Manifesting the Antichrist" from Virginia's ARCHAEOBEAST. This old school death metal band is for those who enjoy ASPHYX, UNLEASHED, and AUTOPSY. Spilling out a raw, dirty, wall of noise to decay your senses. With a slow and sludgy start "Manifesting the Antichrist" has a slight MORBID ANGEL feel and then slips deeper into a mid-toned thrash fest. The drums while not blasting are hitting harder than most. Making the simplicity a bit more challenging. The transitional fills have some headroom which is a little weird. Going from a skyscraper of thick, sludge to an instant thin stream of water. The song ends with a slight tinge of Grindcore ala EXIT 13. The vocals are low and more breathy rather than throaty gargling.

As "Dark Covenant" opens the gates, I am baffled. Is this a different band, or just a good show of diversity? Also, listen to the 55 - 58-second mark. The recording seems to go from clear to someone's Tascam multi-track recorder. To the point that the guitar tone changed, the drum tone changed. They don't even have 2 guitar players. So I want to say that the intro was recorded elsewhere and with a totally different setup. Skip. "Talisman Of Deceit" is up next. I am starting to think a good way to describe ARCHAEOBEAST is old ASPHYX music with David Vincent/Chris Barnes vocals. There is a lot of potential here. These guys aren't boring, aren't regurgitating anything, and have their own style that gives good hints at their influences but does not follow their structure.

What is killing it for me is the mixing. The playability of these guys is great, and the mix is stereo spectrum, there is just something not right. I figured this may not be apparent to someone who doesn't mix audio. So I asked some friends to see if they could spot it. All noticed the intro of "Dark Covenant" and only 1 pointed out 2 punch ins that have different volume levels. "Manifesting the Antichrist" sounds like a well-recorded demo from a band that does kick ass. Their sound is so thick one could gloriously suffocate in it. When they pick up the tempo it sounds like they are ruthlessly, but skillfully, beating the shit out of their instruments. I am sure they go through picks, strings, sticks, and drum heads faster than most. I am going to put ARCHAEOBEAST into the pile of, "keep an eye on these guys." With a solid recording, I am sure there is more badass-ness going on than what I am hearing. Their bio boasts, "no posers, fakes, or wimps." While that seems a little lame to me, it is a good factual statement. These guys are not weak by any means.