Vulture Lord – Total Blasphemic Desecration [Compilation]

The Norwegian Black /Thrash Metal act Vulture Lord has been in existence since 1995, but its origins date back even further to as early as 1990. To honour these veterans of the genre, the Columbian label Masters of Kaos Productions has released a neat little selection presented on double 7” EP entitled ‘Total Blasphemic Desecration’.

The six songs on this compilation of sorts span roughly 18 years of the band’s career but apart from nuances mostly created by differences in production, it is clear that Vulture Lord has remained true to their sound throughout the years. Each of the songs presents their vision of furious uptempo Black Metal mixed with a Thrashy groove and catchiness topped up with ripping Slayer-esque solos. Not surprising considering the contribution he had to the band, the songwriting style of the sadly deceased Urgehal frontman Trondr Nefas is felt all over the material on ‘Total Blasphemic Desecration’.

On side A we find ‘Awakening the Warhorde’ and ‘Rite of Satan’ taken from the Blasphemy 7” EP that was originally released in 2006. With a somewhat murky sound, these songs have a little bit more of a Thrashy content to them than some of the other tracks featured on the compilation. The contrast with the only song on side B, the much more up to date and sharper sounding ‘Stillborn Messiah’ that originally appeared on the 2021 full-length ‘Desecreation Rite’, is quite large. But this restricts itself to a more powerful sound and perhaps a couple of years of experience. For side C and D we then go back furthest in time, with the clock turned back to the 2003 debut album ‘Profane Prayer’. ‘Churchburner’, ‘Total Blasphemy’ and ‘Burn me at the Stake’ feature a shriller sound and come closest to a Black Metal production. In the end it doesn’t really matter which songs with which production you take though, as Vulture Lord manages to convince regardless of how old, how shrill or how updated their sound is.

A very nice overview of Vulture Lord’s career, this double 7” EP comes limited to just 50 copies. The price is a little bit steep, but it’s a great overview of how much these Norwegians have to offer. It’s the sort of music that always hits home and is hard to get enough of.