Merrimack

Swarming up from a pit of stygian depths, Of Entropy and Life Denial is hypnotically vile, an undeniable testament to Merrimack’s ferocity and blasphemy. The power and persuasiveness of what is only the band’s second full-length hints at several years’ worth of demos and a well-established presence in the black metal underground. Of Entropy and Life Denial layers visceral ravings underneath a sheet of melody and complexity, its ominous atmosphere oozing out in gasps of caustic air that momentarily stir the nearly unrelenting propulsion. The album unfolds as a series of shifts and progressions, through mesmerising repetition, blistering brutality, majestic threat, and even blackened rock catchiness, with always the promise of new abominations to come.