FORNICATADOR — Nuclear Rape (review)

EP · 2018 · War Metal

3.5/5 · 2019-12-07
siLLy puPPy

Coming from the remote Australian city of Darwin which sits all the way at the top of Aussie territory and a vital link with Indonesia to the north, the bestial black war metal act FORNICATADOR is lurking in the shadows of Australia’s most tropical metropolis and creating unfathomable evil sounds. Like many bands in this darkened fusion of death metal brutality cross-pollinated with the black metal underground, not much is known about this one-man band whose identity is Guy Watson aka Masokist who performs all instruments and vocals. But mystery is all a part of the image i suppose.

In the war metal world, there’s a tendency to eschew the modern trends of making “pretty” black metal with hi-fi production effects or symphonic sophistication. On this second EP titled NUCLEAR RAPE, the focus is firmly placed on sounding as lo-fi fucked up as possible which makes this EP sound a lot like a demo would have in the old days and in fact some sources claim that this is indeed a demo but the fact that this is for sale on Bandcamp as an official release, i’d have to dispute those charges.

One look at the blasphemous cover art and you’ll know you’re getting a musical style that wants to push all the buttons by blending sexual perversions with anti-Christian rhetoric. While the lyrics are indecipherable (as usual) there’s no missing the fact that with track titles like “Defecated Christ” or “Penis Of Christ,” that this is music designed to piss of the religious folk but personally it’s only the music i care about so let’s move on. This is basically a typical lo-fi war metal release with emphasis on noisy and murky distorted guitar riffs that offer plenty of feedback and reverb from hell.

This is basically the sonic equivalent of a nuclear holocaust which is why the EP is called NUCLEAR RAPE as you feel you’re being assaulted for the entire time you are listening to this. The EQ is tweaked for maximum irritation, the war metal march is either slow and distorted beyond imagination or rampaging like the Hulk on a bad day. This EP successfully delivers the disturbing underground feel that its going for however like most of these types of acts, the brevity is welcome due to the fact that the one-dimensional nature is like throwing a fire log into the volcano and watching it incinerate in a microsecond. The effect wears off quickly but is quite exhilarating while it is on fire.

In all honesty, these four tracks probably feature the most feedback and noisy mess of sound that i’ve ever experienced on a metal album. While this style of music has always seemed like a musical cul-de-sac where there’s nowhere left to go, it’s amazing that this only came out in 2018 and seems to have taken the evil mind fuck to an even more disturbing level. Sub-level that is. This hypnotic dark music seems like it is designed to accompany an intense gazing session at the cover art and therefore really does evoke the very essence of black magic unlike other black metal styles. For that i’ll have to admire its sheer determination to go as black and light-free as possible. In a short duration i actually enjoy this quite a bit but this is like a ridiculously sweet dessert where after a few bites, i’m quite satisfied and ready to move on.