### Tenet: Sovereign

#### 06/10/09 || HailandKill

Know what’s a rectal split? It’s a sanitized medical term for damaged tissue in the bunghole area. (Read: Open Wound.) It usually arises from ruptured hemorrhoids (swollen veins in the lining of yer arsehole) and excessive pressure on your second favorite opening next to your mouth. HailandKill has one; it burns when he shits. There’s also blood. Brooootal. Like this new slab of incinerating thrash/death metal from Tenet. Brootal as hell that’ll likely draw the icky red stuff at first listen.

Rectal splits aside, this spine tingling Century Media debut features the guys from Strapping Young Lad doing backup for Exodus’ Steve “Zetro” Souza. The results are torturous and painful—which is what metalheads love—akin to taking a dump with a rectal split. Didn’t HailandKill promise to can any mention of his anus ailment? Originally conceived as a side project by Strapping guitarist Jed Simon way back when (1996 to be specific) and almost temporarily shelved till Souza agreed to hop aboard recently, Tenet are a supergroup that transcends the hype. For fuck’s sake, their music is brootal beautiful. Think rectal splits.

Alright, alright now, putting a stop to the gross butt jokes, Tenet begin with full force here with the lightning fast decibels of opener “Being and Nothingness”, Souza is screaming all over the place and the drums from Gene Hoglan are relentless. It’s a doozy. Milkshake with vanilla ice scream bathed in chocolate syrup. Irresistible. If you think this is awesome, wait up for the succeeding tracks like “Indulge Me” or the grinding guitar crunch of “Unnameable”. The tempo only slows down once on “Sovereign” and it’s for the ice-cold atmosphere at the frosty “Going Down” where Souza is sounding his cartoon villain best.

Everything else is a flawless succession of shredding twin guitars, massive hooks, melody amidst the carnage, and the orgasmic blend of precision musicianship with savage vocals. There’s gang style backing chants glory for “Hail Hail” and “Take A Long Line”; death metal in spades for the intense “Crown Of Thorns”; and finally the mother of all closers that’s the title track in its grotesque splendor—hard, fast, melodic, furious, crushing. Mosh pits will be happy.

No ifs or butts (rectal pun intended), this is a great album of nasty proportions. Buy it.

With the day’s work done, HailandKill would like to excuse himself: his nightly before-bedtime enema is due where he lathers his arse in petroleum jelly to soothe the soreness. In the meantime, check this “Sovereign” out, rectal splits be damned.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Century Media
- Website: Tenet MySpace
- Band
- Steve Souza: vocals
- Jed Simon: guitars
- Glen Alvelais: guitars
- Byron Stroud: bass
- Gene Hoglan: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Being and Nothingness
- 02. Indulge Me
- 03. Crown of Thorns
- 04. Unnameable
- 05. Take A Long Line
- 06. Going Down
- 07. Hail Hail
- 08. Watching You Burn
- 09. Sovereign