siLLy puPPy So you think black metal is exclusively an anti-Christian type of bombast solely for pissed off Europeans to spout off their venom? Don’t tell Muslims who have adopted the lo-fi sacrilegious and misanthropic styled discordant furor for their very own. While not exactly conquering the Islamic world, there are a few examples of top notch black metal erupting from all over the war torn regions of the Middle East in all its chaotic distorted din. Janaza and Seeds of Iblis come from Iraq and the black metal band Al-Namrood defies all odds and emerged in the unlikely theocracy of Saudi Arabia but perhaps nobody and i mean nobody erupts in full vitriolic fury more than the war metal band DAMAAR (which means “destruction” in Arabic) from Beirut, Lebanon that released a mere demo turned EP titled TRIUMPH THROUGH SPEARS OF SACRILEGE in 2007 and then like a mirage in the sand completely disappeared leaving this sonic assault as the only evidence that they ever existed however other Lebanese black metal acts like Ayat and Veinen have certainly attempted to match this ruinous havoc.

If you think you’ve heard bombastic black metal brutality then you haven’t heard anything if you haven’t had DAMAAR erupt out of your speakers leaving war metal wimps like Teitanblood, Blasphemy (whom they cover here and blow away in the process) and Archgoat in the dust. With tracks like “Preaching For Mass Suicide” and “The Goatphoenix” this band channels all their war torn fury into an eruptive pyroclastic frenzy of raw energy that is some of the most brutal and intense sonic savagery ever committed to release and perfectly emulates the chaotic swirl of incessant violence that has plagued the region at large where they reside for time immemorial with the biggest middle finger towards the religious dogma that dictates the repressive stranglehold of a truly free society.

TRIUMPH THROUGH SPEARS OF SACRILEGE is a mercifully short sonic journey into a gun barrel as it’s being fired in successive rounds as the incessant pummeling of blastbeats of Napalm’s drumming act in tandem with the buzzsaw distortion of Nunrider’s guitar and Heathen’s bass while utterly ravaging rhythmic jackhammer approach to thoroughly deplete the listener of any possible signs of hope from eternal bondage of chaotic devastation while Heathen’s vocals provide some of the most intense rage i’ve ever heard in a black metal act and he has a greater vocal range than most. Technically this was only released as a demo but some of the best black metal comes in lo-fi underground packages and DAMAAR really stands out as one of the best. If you love the most hyperactive and brutal aspects of black metal, it doesn’t get any more punishing than this short journey into the bowls of hell.