### Ars Macabra: Hate induced trance

#### 28/10/09 || Smalley

Wait… Ars MacaBRA? Not bre, but bra? What is this, frat boy black metal? A band sponsored by Victoria’s Secret? Shudder. Fortunately, this Italian group’s music is much easier to respect than their name, right from the atmospheric, keyboard-heavy intro that opens up “Hate induced trance”, to the bleak, relentless black metal that follows, reminiscent of Marduk or early Satyricon. Unfortunately, bleak and relentless is about all they are, since, despite an overall good energy level, Macabra doesn’t have the songwriting chops to follow through here, resulting in songs that too often leave behind very little impact. Also, they need to tell their singer to shut up occasionally and let the rest of the music have some space, since Herebus almost strangles these tracks with his incessant screaming, and while his basic style isn’t what I’d call awful, it also isn’t what I’d call good.

Now, what is good here? Well, Macabra goes back to the keyboards (and some other atmosphere-setting tricks) on a few other instrumentals here, keeping the black metal monotony from getting too bad. By the way, I know what you’ve been thinking since the first sentences of this review: black metal band from Italy, eh? Not to worry, since, though I can’t directly compare AM’s music to Whinus Tenebrarum’s, judging by how much cooler AM looks (in a cheesy BM way, of course) I don’t think Macabra would get as fucken pansy about one shit review as they did. So, despite their middling songwriting, at least these guys aren’t a bunch of posers, and they didn’t annoy me with their style either, so “Hate induced trance” was pretty tolerable in the end. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t go so far as to call this good, or recommend it to anyone either, but still, it’s not a bad album by any stretch.

- Information
- Released: 2007
- Label: Sinister Sounds
- Website: www.arsmacabra.com
- Band
- Herebus: vocals
- Sathor: guitar
- Nero Baratro: bass
- Sargon: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Ahnenerbe
- 02. Kernel Satanica
- 03. Compelling Perverted Taste
- 04. Sadomasochistic Pitchblack Scenario
- 05. Et Nihil
- 06. Lagerlandschaft41
- 07. Infausta Spirale Manifesta
- 08. Black Blood Promise
- 09. Hate Induced Trance
- 10. Requiem Aeternam
- 11. Nomen Exterminus