Lord Mantis – Spawning the Nephilim – Seventh Rule Records [Album Review]

The closet-cleaning continues! I got this CD in the mail god-knows-when, and ignored it for months for god-knows-why.

Now that I have Spawning the Nephilim in my lap I’m glad I took the plunge. “Nephilim” supposedly means “those who cause others to fall” in Hebrew. I’m not sure how that pertains to the molten music wherein; perhaps Lord Mantis have decided to reproduce — or clone — themselves so that they may form a metal militia.

Thing is, they really don’t need an army. Their guitars, drums, bass and torturous screams — straight out of “Pull the Plug”-era Death — are enough to fend off any enemy. Think of the poisonous bite of Black Cobra, the fuzz-drenched, zeus-baiting hammering of Zao, the pounding of just about every rusted-metal act on the Corrosive label over the last few years or, yes, the din of Training For Utopia (I know I name-drop them a lot but they were fantastic).

While you’re thinking of those bands also throw in a healthy portion of double-bass-drum beats and climactic detours, during which Lord Mantis become a member of the Doom generation — closely resembling Hydra Head’s Knut — for short stretches.

There are also the obligatory touches, most obviously soft intros that serve as a slow, sensuous walk into a chamber of untold horors, for instance. I could do without these, but aside from Genghis Tron and a few others this is what’s Happening in metal. Who am I to argue?

I’m better off strapping on a gas mask and letting the fumes of Nephilim reduce me to a puddle of guts and nerves. That’s one of my favorite functions of extreme, mind-bending metal: Totally unplugging from proper society and whipping my neck around like Regan from The Exorcist. 

I usually don’t barf though (unless we’re talking Cannibal Corpse or Daughters; then it’d be offensive NOT to) …