### Zygoatsis: S.K.U.D. (Satanic kultus - Unholy desecration)

#### 14/12/11 || gk

Thailand’s Zygoatsis have been peddling their black death assault since 2004 with a series of demos and splits but it’s only this year that the band has come out with their debut full length “S.K.U.D. (Satanic Kultus – Unholy Desecration).”

The band plays a brand of blackened death metal that is relentless in its pace and absolutely furious in execution. Album opener “Evoke the Goatphomet” sets the tone for the album with chanting and samples of machine gun fire before an explosion kick starts the song with relentless blast beats and chainsaw guitars. “Satanic Kultus Altar” starts slow with a lone plodding guitar riff but it isn’t long before the band gets down to doing what they do best and ramp up the pace with riffs that bring Sadistik Exekution to mind and the song alternates between tempos and builds an impressive atmosphere of oppression and claustrophobia. That atmosphere is maintained right through this album as the band combines death, black and the occasional burst of grind into one cohesive whole. Case in point is the twisted “Black-Forced Khaostorm” which is unrelenting in pace and brutality with a drummer who occasionally sounds completely out of control, strategically placed sound effects of explosions, riffing that brings Singapore’s mighty Impiety to mind and an ending that is abrupt and perfect at the same time. A definite highlight of the album. “Ritual of Desecration” is probably the strangest song on the album as it moves through a variety of riffs and tempos often sounding disjointed and chaotic but still somehow working in adding to the atmosphere. “Invert the Crucifix” is another stunning song with an incredibly heavy main death metal riff and an inspired vocal performance. The album closes with a cover of Impiety’s “Lords of Apokalypse” and if you’ve heard the original then Zygoatsis do full justice to the song while adding some of their own manic fury and chaos. A perfect ending to an album that is quite relentless.

Right from the start “S.K.U.D.” plays like the bastard child of a nightmarish three way between Impiety, Blasphemy and Finnish death metal. The pace is mostly relentless with songs occasionally starting off slow for the first few seconds before the tempo just reaches ridiculous levels of speed and the band sounds like an out of control freight train. The constant pounding and speed should get boring and the songs should all blur into one giant noise scape but Zygoatsis manage to keep things interesting right through this album. There are a vast number of killer riffs and each individual song is memorable in its own right always adding to the overall atmosphere of the song and never blurring into one another.

‘S.K.U.D.” is a supremely impressive release and one of my favorites from 2011. This is uncompromising extreme metal and if you like any one of the bands I’ve name dropped here then you’d do well to give Zygoatsis a chance. Let the “Siamese Warmageddon” commence.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Necromancer Records
- Website: Zygoatsis MySpace
- Band
- Sickness 666: vocals
- Avaejee: guitars
- Patiwat: guitars
- Ekachot: bass
- Sunyaluxx: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Evoke the Goatphomet
- 02. Zygoatical Epidemic Assassination
- 03. Satanic Kultus Altar
- 04. Black-Forced Khaostorms
- 05. Ritual of Desecration
- 06. Invert the Crucifix
- 07. Wage War in Blasphemy
- 08. The Last Blasphemous Supper
- 09. Lords of Apokalypse (CD bonus track)