Bog of the Infidel – To Corrupt your Sons and Lust After your Daughters EP
Nothing about the cover art on Providence, Rhode Island’s sons of wickedness Bog of the Infidel, speaks to me that this EP would be anything other than a lackluster attempt at US black metal with a brutal/anti-melodic slant. With expectations low, To Corrupt your Sons and Lust After your Daughters instantly crept in with more of a laid back and patient approach to melodious black metal with a pension for atmospheric riffs and a mid to slower paced delivery that allows the guitar work to congeal into songs that do offer a strong sense of memorability. Color me surprised, then burnt black of course!
Stating right away that Bog of the Infidel bring nothing new to the sacrifice, but they augment years of black metal influence into something that is tinged with their own appealing take on the genre. To Corrupt your Sons… possesses a plodding vibe with guitar work that brings to mind the hook laden motion of bands like Grand Belial’s Key, Arghoslent, a hint of Dissection and Destoyer 666. Obviously BotI is far away from reaching the higher echelon of songwriting demonstrated by the aforementioned bands, but their presentation points to something worth experiencing and you can just tell that the core writers in this band are close to finding their true voice. Speaking of, vocalist “Satanist” offsets the music effectively with a charred black, mid-ranged and throaty screaming style that further gives this material more of an Earthly home. Even though quicker/blasting moments are scattered throughout the core of this EP, the overall flow is lucid and very smooth due to the reverb drenched production for that cavernous descent into the deep dark. It works well for them, though I did find myself losing track of the songs since there is an aura of sameness that creeps into the material.
Having said that, Bog of the Infidel are definitely on the right track with To Corrupt your Sons and Lust After your Daughters, as there is a lot of life to be felt within the 4 tracks comprising this EP. With more focus on dynamics and even more riff variation, I think subtle changes such as that could really elevate the quality of their material into something worthy of praise on a wider scale. Solid material for sure. -Marty
Eternal Death
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