### Asphyx: Crush the cenotaph

#### 11/11/09 || Daemonomania

First of all, I’d like to offer a thank you to the “Crush the cenotaph” EP. This morning as I rode to my job on the glorious New York City subway system, an old woman suddenly busted out her bible and started ranting about jeebus 4eva this and eternal salvation that. Has your self esteem and sense of self been so decimated by Christendom that you suffer no embarrassment from proselytizing to total strangers? Anyway, I quickly put on headphones and was able to drown her out with the sweet sounds of Asphyx. You have earned .5 points, my friends.

So on to the music. This is an odd little collection of a few original tracks, one song that would appear on the next album, and a couple of live tracks. I’m usually not one for live material, but both “Evocation” and “Wasteland of terror” sound great. Crowd noise is captured, as- is -phyxed. The former has a great doomy solo that wouldn’t sound out of place on the future self-titled album, and the latter literally induces a mental moshpit. And let me tell you, a mental moshpit set in 1991 Stockholm is a beautiful thing.

The studio tracks are a mixed bag. Title track is kinda boring with some sloppy drumwork, and “Rite of shades” is a little more badass but nothing that stands out in the vast catalogue of Asphyx output. However, “The Krusher” is a puncher of children and a stainer of carpets. In other words, not a cardboard box home held together with shit (TM Kampfar). Slow, grooving, with an up-tempo section and a final riff that will stick in your head for eternity. Plus the lyrics, about some superbeing destroying Earth, fit perfectly. Seeing them play this at MDF, drunk outta my gourd, was a very special moment I will recall as life slowly slips away.

Of course the vocals deserve a paragraph. Martin’s voice, on a good day, is absolutely vicious. Like a harem of cats being raped by the light of Christ. You can hear the blood welling up in his shredded throat throughout, and on the live tracks he sounds even viler. Certainly one of the most recognizable voices in metal. Plus you gotta love him thanking the crowd and calling them “the most insane motherfuckers we’ve ever had at a show!” That would have made me proud, had I been there that day. I really am an insane motherfucker, I would have thought. Martin van Drunen just confirmed it!

That’s that. Good stuff, and not just for obsessive Asphyxiators (IG, David Carradine). “The Krusher” is a dominator, and the Stockholm insanity is in the rare category of quality live shit. Pick ‘er up.

- Information
- Released: 1992
- Label: Century Media
- Website: www.asphyx.nl
- Band
- Martin van Drunen: vocals, bass
- Eric Daniels: guitars
- Bob Bagchus: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Crush The Cenotaph
- 02. Rite Of Shades
- 03. The Krusher
- 04. Evocation (live)
- 05. Wasteland Of Terror (live)