With Burning Contempt     

Red Visions
Self-Released 2013

American blackened thrashers With Burning Contempt have laid waste to the storied battlegrounds of their home state of Virginia.  Their debut EP bludgeons and pummels the sleeping masses with thick, meaty riffs and a muscular grooves that leave nothing but shattered corpses in its wake.  The title-track strikes hard and with bone-smashing force as the riffs churn and froth along like a gleaming tribute to Hellhammer via Darkthrone.  The riffs recall Satanic Rites and Ravishing Grimness all in one oppressive stroke.  The pace drops into a morbid crawl and skipping trudge, replete with throbbing guitars and this theme carries on until the song ultimately collapses.  Defaced utilizes a more imposing set of riffs and venomous vocals to get its point across.  The chorus hits like a sledgehammer before once again giving way to massive waves of throbbing riffs that surge like giant sand dunes.  A complete Celtic Frost/Hellhammer riff soon follows, the only thing missing is the guitar squeal at the end of the riff.  Taking a decidedly more upbeat tempo is We Are Nothing.  A faster, thrashier riff drives the song until it finally devolves into a gargantuan doom/drone throb with melodic accents that rise from the darkness.  A demonic trudge permeates the initial passage on Untrue Weapons.  The track picks up as a thrashy riff cuts loose and the band finally feels somewhat liberated and free.  The debut EP from Virginia's With Burning Contempt is a pretty impressive step towards violent domination of the metal underground.  The EP balances old school styles (Hellhammer/Celtic Frost) and modern nihilism (Darkthrone).  Red Visions is an EP of inspiring and spirited black metal, colored by thrash and death undertones.  Get the EP quick, otherwise you'll end up burnt to a crisp as the fire from this EP sweeps across the underground.