A duo accompanied by an unofficial yet ever present third member, German Blackened Death Metal act The Infernal Deceit are back with second full length album The True Harmful Black (Personal Records). Formed in 2018, the pair from North Rhine-Westphalia go only by enigmatic single initials – guitarist/bassist C and vocalist R – while session drummer Jörg Uken gets to use his full name while pounding the living hell out of his kit.

Drawing influences from the likes of Necrophobic, Vinterland and early In Flames among many others, The True Harmful Black is a glorious combination of Black and Death Metal which begins with “In The Wilderness Of Pernicious Black.” An explosive opener with slashing riffs and thunderous drums which signals the band’s intent right from the start, the track even finding time to drop out for a while to let C show off his bass talents as well as his six string skills. 

“The Great Seducer, The Greatest Deceiver (Dethroned)” boasts a strong groove and full on black metal blasts that resemble prime Naglfar and the dramatic rhythmic punishment of Behemoth. The same can be said for the mighty “In Death I Am Eternal” and “The Divinity Of Forsaken Idols,” the former beginning with distorted open chords before piling on the aggression with a darkly melodic chorus, the latter a full on black metal blast armed with a monstrous final section.

After the languid acoustic interlude of “For All Things Must Die,” the blastbeats, tremolo picking and savage vocals return with “The Primordial Maze And The Crawling Chaos,” a fantastic cut bolstered by a moody middle section and a superbly performed melodic guitar solo.

The multifaceted “Schwarz” lives up to its name with a crushing blackness while the standout moment of “Until The Flesh Is Gone” is its insidious middle section crawl. “The Fathomless Dominion” comes equipped with a genuine swing and a sinister spoken word section before building to a compelling climax, the record coming to a serene conclusion with acoustic outro piece “And The Tide Will Turn.”

Although clearly an album of different moods and textures, The True Harmful Black isn’t so much an album of light and shade but of different forms of black and darker black. Aside from the acoustic instrumentals there really is no escape from the unrelenting darkness. Savage and intense, the playing is of the highest quality, R’s vocals are as gravelly and vicious as they come and while you can happily spend time picking out the band’s influences, the production is first rate and an improvement on most albums which inspired them in the first place.

8 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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