Year: 2026
Label: Bestial Burst
Finnish Annihilatus have a long history behind them, but not a very long discography. Since their inception in 1999, the group have released only three albums, a mini-album and some sundries. One obvious explanation might be that the band have always been something of a side project: vocalist/guitarist Serpent is active also in Nightside, whilst multi-instrumentalist T_btd_H (or Viha, as he is titled on Metal Archives) has had a slew of other projects throughout the years.
We’ve never covered Annihilatus before, but their discography up until now can be summed up easily: quantity over quality. Especially the debut EP Annihilation (2001) and second full-length Death From Above (2019) are strong outings, showcasing a primitive and boneheaded take on black metal. By and large, Exterminate continues in the same vein.
Annihilatus’ brand of black metal can be called old school, even archaic. The duo heavily rely on mid-tempo sections with riffs that owe an obvious debt to the likes of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. These are draped in a gnarly, nasty and straightforwardly crude second wave black metal guise, with faster sections replete with sawing guitars grounding the expression in early 90’s soil.
The end result sounds something like Darkthrone, especially Panzefaust, where the Norwegian icons fully leaned into their first wave black metal influences. Not only the music, which is – as already established – a combination of the two, but also the vocals. Serpent’s hostile, vicious snarl is almost as dry and utterly negative as Nocturno Culto’s on aforementioned classic.
Remarkably, on Exterminate Annihilatus find an exemplary balance between sticking to their guns and renewing their expression. The album introduces sparsely used synths to add a bit of atmosphere to the otherwise very bare bones sound. Tracks such as Wolves with its atmospheric synth choir and Only The Candles Remain tastefully add just the right amount of synths to inject a bit of 90’s style atmosphere without compromising the overall hostility.
Fans and friends of the older stuff need not be worried: the inclusion of synths here and there has not changed Annihilatus’ quintessence. Exterminate is still very much all about simple, straightforward and effective songs built with rough hewn, violent riffs, viciously pounding, unornamented drumwork and aggressive vocals. All of this remains from earlier releases.
The end result is an album worth the seven year wait. It might not take its predecessor Death From Above’s place as the crown jewel in Annihilatus’ discography, but it comes awfully close. Probably about a song’s length away: Starless with some nice Hellhammer-style riffs is crippled by rather annoying layered vocals.
One arrow off the mark does not the album ruin, though. Exterminate remains a powerful, obstinate, uncompromising and convincingly abrasive piece of boneheaded black metal. Forget nice leads, pretty melodies and catchy choruses. No niceties like that here. Exterminate’s power lies in the rawness of its music, the unbridled negativity of its atmosphere, and the undiluted hostility of its attitude. Negative black metal for negative people.
Only Death Is Real 