Earlier in the year I found myself plummeting the depths of the aggressive, ultra kvlt genre of War Metal. A pestilent reign of battering Death and Black Metal crossover that sounds like the two genres fighting to the death with rusty buckled chainsaws. What could possibly be better than an amalgamation of the trvest aspects of each genre colliding in the underground? Whilst I understand War Metal isn’t for everyone it is certainly, at least in my mind a perfect representation of Extreme Metal at its finest.

In the Californian landscapes a Death Metal horror of the darkest nature creeps in the night, this malignant beast is known as Draghkar. Formed in 2016 this relatively fresh cadaver is giving life to the maggots that devour its rotting flesh. Through a demo in 2017 and a subsequent two splits with Desekryptor and Ossauarium in 2018 Draghkar have been edging slowly into the eyes of those below, and finally with the 2018 EP The Endless Howling Abyss we get our first real peek what these nightmarish fiends are capable of.

If you like your Death Metal pure, nasty, gritty and murky this is for you, relaying my points on War Metal The Endless Howling Abyss represents Death Metal’s underground with murderous precision. The vocals lay low in the mix like a thick tar of bones, entrails and faeces, swimming through this paste of gore is an average nigh on lo-fi production that keeps a hollow and dusty sound akin to the furtherest reaches of War Metal and even at points Black Metal.

Touching further on the Blackened elements Eternal Disintegration (Of The Body And Of The Mind) exhibits riffs torn from the frostbitten kingdoms that inject an icy venomous twang to the Death ridden casing of this overall extreme release. Having heard Tomb Mold and Necros Christos’ latest albums this year also I feel very happy in saying that purist Death Metal is in a good place right now. Each and every track on this brief EP is a testament to the unholy gospels of the undying crypts of Death Metal.

The one word to use in the presence of Draghkar is trve, this is real Death Metal, although my love for the genre as a whole leans mostly towards the Brutal side this is exactly what Death Metal is all about, no frills, scum production, hideous, vomitus filth that simply rumbles inside the brain of the listener. Keep your eyes on the grave and don’t miss this hidden heap of stench fuelled bile, this is Death Metal perfection.

(9/10 George Caley)

https://www.facebook.com/DraghkarBand

https://draghkar.bandcamp.com/album/the-endless-howling-abyss