Albums like these affirm my faith and devotion to the metal underground, the ones that ignite the dying fires of my dwindling almost-religious belief (sometimes mistakenly) that extreme metal is my home, rekindle the embers of my almost-complete disappointment and discouragement with any hope that anything good will ever come out of the cesspool of metal again…

Albums like these are worth the waiting, the reluctance, the animosity towards all which is mediocre, benign, banal and unoriginal in today's metal artists/art. Give me one of these and let me forget about the thousands that have preceded; faceless dispassionate, numb and almost-dead pieces of disposable "music" that infest and soil the higher ART within the genre…

This album, 'Current 11' is ART. It is art for many reasons, some of which will remain indescribable by the limited power of words, so either you listen for yourselves (after reading this review, if still unfulfilled) to close the gap between my words and the actual recording, or just forget about it altogether…

Whomever dismisses 'Current 11' as a merely death metal album, not only avoids the extremely hard a task to actually describe with words the music within, but also gravely misleads the others, for there couldn't be farther a distance between this album and the immediate association visualized in one's mind of death metal altogether (not a specially appealing genre considering the lack of inspiration and boredom the style is cursed with nowadays, but thinking about it a bit more, don't most of metal's sub genres suffer from the same diseases?...) when tagging 'Current 11' as a death metal album. It's as if saying it is music. Of course it is, but what else?

'Current 11' allegedly derives its stylistic musical influence mainly from Morbid Angel, in a sense that it owns this quirky, whiny, non-linear and almost-chaotic overall sound, a general guitar sound which is not unlike the one used by the above mentioned; not being quite distorted to the maximum, lending the guitar a hollow quality, a borderline sound almost, between the distortion and the non-distorted one.

This exquisite choice of sound serves as the main characteristic of Shaarimoth's sound, but not exclusively.

Paradoxical as it may seem, one can mistake the chosen style of music as old-school-ish in its almost-primitive façade and aesthetical approach rather than anything 'modern', due to the dirty, sludgy and 'lo-fi' attitude and vibes coming this way, however nothing is more remote from the actual truth than the above statement, for this is one of the most innovative, fascinating recordings I've listened to within the death metal genre. This recording is simply sublime and transcendental…

Shaarimoth, a Hebrew-originated Kabbalah-related word means literally "the gates of death" (Sha'arim = Gates in Hebrew, Moth or Maveth = Death) relates to "The Seven Infernal Habitations" or seven hells (Tehom, Avaddon, Titahion, Barshacheth, Tzelmoth, Shaarimoth and Gehinnom) that have got something to do with some other Kliphotic (representation of evil forces in the mystical teachings of Judaism.

The term 'klippot' means 'peels' or 'shells' in Hebrew) demonic orders and hierarchies rooted in Jewish esoterica…

Inbreeding kabbalistic elements with Mesopotamian/Sumerian mythology regarding the Ancient Ones (where Lovecraftian Cthulu myths have a place of their own) and of the eternal battle between the Arch God Mordoch or Marduk and the Mother Goddess of the sea Tiamat, Shaarimoth picked up a unique and intriguing concept to dwell in and explore, what is reflected not only from the band name, cover art, lyrical themes and texts, but also from the actual music, where it is the most intriguing…

The music reflected from 'Current 11' is ritualistic, if nothing else. Forget about the fact the band's origin is Norway, it is irrelevant and inconsequential here, because the music is as close to being genuine Mesopotamian metal as possibly anyone can play. Forget about Melechesh or Orphaned Land (whose origin of both bands is actually the Middle East), Shaarimoth is the real deal. It reeks of Middle Eastern mysticism and the music, together with the authentic Arabian/ethnic elements are jaw-dropping because a new dimension in extreme metal has been born here, and this – my friends – is not something that happens often.

Ritualistic death metal, shamanistic rhythms coupled with serpentine guitar layers and poly-rhythmic approach where the drumming is concerned, excellent song writing that leaves the listener in awe while immersed in and swallowed by the dark matter of the eerie songs, each a mysterious yet strangely uplifting ritual, Sumerian invocations and funeral processions; it’s all a big black cabaret of darkness and mystery, a playground, a macabre theater of ability, originality and maturity for the extremely talented Norwegian triplet of artists…

It's the exploration and the experimentation that does the trick, finding new musical dimensions in dark music while pledging allegiance to the very basics of metal -stylistically as well as ideologically- and what they used to stand for: daring, courage, in-your-face innovation and unconventional exploitation of musical tools and styles. Metal should have been a leader, not a follower, if to use a cliché here, and Shaarimoth proudly holds high the banner of fucking hard the trendy, conformist metal and treading its own left-hand paths of left-field music.

Carnal Records leaflet says Shaarimoth could be compared to Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Deicide, and I ask: compared how? All play metal? Right. All play death metal? Right again. Other than that – and with the exception of Morbid Angel's style of guitar playing and overall sound – there can not be and should not be any comparison between Shaarimoth and the above mentioned bands. Shaarimoth is worlds and worlds apart and way from the banalities displayed by the more well-known bands mentioned, it is far better, far more innovative, original and daring than anything done by any of the above mentioned. It is by far more atmospheric, unique and profound than anything done by these bands put together, and Shaarimoth's sound isn't even close to neither Deicide's nor Behemoth's, so how exactly could there ever be a comparison here?

Shaarimoth belongs to a unique click of bands whose affinity to mystical, esoteric issues is strong, that truly try to explore exotic ancient cultures and mythologies and who are capable of manifesting their fascination with the unknown and the mysterious through sounds. Bands like Mithras, Mythological Cold Towers, and to some extent even Melechesh, although not related stylistically (maybe only Mithras shares the same musical approach as Shaarimoth), share the same qualities, and the same courage, if I may add.

Epilogue: I think Carnal Records and the bands it represents, is one of the better things that has happened to the metal underground. With Craft, Arckanum and Shaarimoth as a part of Carnal Records' signed bands roster, how can you go wrong?

Highly, highly recommended.

written by Chaim Drishner

Playing time: 39.24