EP Review: Schwarzmassa by Entität (Self Released)

Entität is a two man black metal project from the USA and Malta and they are due to release their debut EP called Schwarzmassa on the 18th of September.

Entitat sees the coming together of Nagoth and Martin Saliba. Saliba is a multi instrumentalist, who plays in the black metal band Sahhr. Nagoth is a vocalist within the band Mork Imperium and the founder of Cursed by the Flesh as well as featuring in or forming many other metal projects. Entitat sees the coming together of these two musical and it will be available everywhere on the 18th of September this year.

Nagoth also offers a pretty unique deal where you can purchase a VIP membership that grants access to big discounts, exclusive songs and freebies across all of his projects. If that piques your interest, check out the difference price points and amazing opportunities offered with each here.

On to Schwarzmassa then and we have 3 original songs and a cover of Rotting Christ’s Visions of Blind Order. First up is Treasures of Eternal Chaos and it doesn’t take many passing seconds to find yourself caught up in the midtempo waves of darkness. Chunky groove, speedy drum blasts, a full riff. It catches your neck muscles straight from the off and gets your head moving. Vocals are traditional black metal in style but have a nice level of clarity to them. You can actually pick out most of the lyrics even beneath the gravelly tones. Chuck in some nice lead guitar moments and you have a strong track that will satisfy your darkest urges.

Grauel follows and is a cracking song. I love the doomy drawn out guitars in the intro and the slow building cymbal roll. When it kicks in, I find myself ready to jump straight into a pit, if there were only one to jump in to. The mid tempo feel comes across again even though the drums are going 100 miles per hour. There are a lot of nice transitions throughout the song, especially in drum pace but the overall down tuned, dark waves of metal consume you completely. This is great metal.

The final original song is called Vers l’autel noir (Towards the Black Tower) and is pure fire. I challenge anyone who likes metal to listen to the intro to this song and not fall instantly in love with it. The pace is strong, the intensity is there in spades. I love the drum rolls that mark the switch ups. The riff is a neck breaker and the lead guitars add a layer of melody over the blackened soul of this song. The pace of the song switches to slower, doom laden tones on occasion. This works particularly well in setting up the build up to the next explosion of force.

We end with the Rotting Christ cover of Visions of Blind Order, from their 2004 album Sanctus Diavolos. Anyone who knows me is aware of my love for Rotting Christ. Anyone daring to cover these legends needs to tread very carefully to do it justice. Credit to Entitat though, they did a decent job of it. They have managed to put their own style into the track without losing the essence o fit and it is fun to listen to. Well done.

So Entitat’s Schwarzmassa is a nice surprise. A new band, harking back to more traditional days but with music that respects the old while not sounding like it was recorded in a saucepan. I really like this. I think it will satisfy a lot of needs for a lot of people. The deep doomy tones, the traditional gravelly vocals, the blastsing drums. Okay, it probably isn’t going to change the world but it will make it a bit more appealing a place to be in during it’s play time.

Entitat Links

Facebook – Bandcamp – YouTube