Album Review: Novae Militiae – Gash’khalah (Goathorned Productions)

Novae Militiae are a bit of a mystery. Founded in 2009 in Paris, the only known member is Daevanam Daevo with the anonymity of the rest strictly adhered too. Gash’khalah is their second album release, out on July 1st 2017.

Gash’khalah exudes the black metal spirit, furiously fast, dark & heavy metal mixed with a certain amount of ambience that leaves you feeling cold & unwanted.

The Chasm of the Cross begins things strongly with crushing black metal riffs, bloodying drum beats & guttural vocals that scream undying hatred on everything. Not one particular instrument takes centre stage, everything gels together perfectly to unleash a monster of a track.

There is little melody to enjoy here, a constant barrage of slamming black metal riffs & beats will leave you feeling exhausted. Songs like Daemon est Deus Inversus, Orders of the Most-High & Koakh Harsani are incredibly unforgiving but will have you on your knees begging for more.

At the halfway point, Annunciation does lighten the load ever so slightly. A haunting intro with massively distorted guitars in the distance keeps things fresh sounding before the slow & moody drum beat ups the volume.

A more restrained offering, it comes at the perfect time to show off the ability of Novae Militiae to craft meaningful & thought-provoking black metal music.

The latter songs on the album keep things heavy, darkly atmospheric & dripping in hate & fury. The final song in particular, Seven Cups of Divine Outrage holds its bloodied hand up as a contender for the best song on the album.

If you like your black metal with very little melody & plenty of aggression then Gash’khalah is the album for you. It’s a constant blast to the face giving you very little time to recover.

Novae Militiae – Gash’khalah Full Track Listing:

1. The Chasm of the Cross
2. Daemon est Deus Inversus
3. Orders of the Most-High
4. Koakh Harsani
5. Annunciation
6. Black Temple Consecration
7. Fall of the Idols
8. Seven Cups of Divine Outrage

Head over to Bandcamp to stream & buy the album here. Also check the secretive band out over on Facebook here!