Tolkien has influenced metal’s lyrical material since the genre’s inception, but as of late, more metal bands are writing songs inspired by his works. This brings us to Khazaddum. A Milwaukee-based brutal death metal band, it was formed by Luka Đorđević in 2013. After assembling a complete lineup, they released their first full-length album Plagues upon Arda in 2017. It managed to get quite a bit of attention when it was first released, but I was so obsessed with finding far more obscure bands that I passed them over. I now intend to rectify that.
The simplest way I can describe the music is that this is what Nile would be like if they wrote songs about Lord of the Rings instead of ancient Egypt. Although this was an independent release, the production has a professional quality, a testament to just how far DIY music production has advanced. The drums are played by Burial Ritual member Pete Kissane. As expected from this type of music, he plays plenty of blast beats, all of which sound pulverizing. The d-beats are just as aggressive. Most of the complexity is found in the mid-paced rhythms, which feature intricate patterns and rapid thumping double bass. The best examples of this include “Legion of the White Hand” and “Oathbreaker’s Curse”.
The bass is played by Tony Cannizarro. He used to play in Splattered Cadaver. It’s funny because I hated that band’s 2001 full-length but I love this. His riffs are complex and have a thick sound, making the music even more heavy and brutal. Luka Đorđević’s vocal performance is one of the best parts of this album. His deep, infernal growls remind me of Glen Benton. The guitars are played by Alex Rausa, and he offers up riffs that are both brutal and intricate. During the fast parts he plays fiery palm-muted riffs and frenetic tremolo riffs that are sometimes joined by finely detailed arpeggios, some of which remind me of Behemoth. Crushing power chords are played during the slower parts. Then, at crucial moments, he plays extravagant, blazing solos.
This is one of the best brutal death metal albums I’ve heard in years, as well as one of the finest achievements of the Milwaukee metal scene. Every member of the band put on an impeccable performance and proved that Lord of the Rings is not exclusive to power metal or black metal. It has been almost five years since this album’s release. I don’t know what Luka and company are up to now, but if they ever intend to record more material under the Khazaddum moniker, I’m all for it.