DMP Vault - Part VIII, "The Apocalyptic Triumphator"

Throughout its history, Black Metal has taken many forms, yet maybe none as barbaric as the one we speak of today. The beginning of Finnish legends ARCHGOAT dates to 1989, however just like the band's sound, their chronicles are not orderly - dropping out of sight in 1993 only to return stronger and more malicious in 2004. Influenced by the early work of bands such as CELTIC FROST and CARCASS, ARCHGOAT went on to create an unequalled sound all their own. Whether their very first demo or a latter-day full-length, it is always undeniably ARCHGOAT. The name has become a synonym for unmatched savagery - an abhorrent, cutthroat sensory assault.

2005's "Angelslaying Black Fucking Metal" EP marked the band's rebirth. Since then, the band has spawned 16 further releases, which encompass some of the most ruthless, blasphemous sonic batterings extreme metal has witnessed. With their in-your-face, uncompromising force, no band violates the sanctity like ARCHGOAT. The vocals have always been a distinguishable factor: Lord Angelslayer's Grindcore-influenced growls are steps below guttural and often a divisive element amongst listeners. In 2006 the band released their first full-length titled "Whore of Bethlehem", a ten-part desecration ritual. There is no doubt why it remains relevant: ARCHGOAT's ruthlessly aggressive approach leaves no breathing room - this is no BS, pointedly brutal Black Metal, ramped up even further via the band's notorious take-no-prisoners live performances.

The DMP x ARCHGOAT story began in 2010, with the release of compilation album "The Aeon Of The Angelslaying Darkness", a 50-minute retrospective to showcase the band's uncompromising savagery.

The compilation was followed up by the subject of this Vault entry, 2015's revered "The Apocalyptic Triumphator": 12 unholy anthems of carnage, death, and devastation. The album opens with the 57-second 'Intro (Left Hand Path)', a diabolical monologue gracing you with the closest thing to tranquility ARCHGOAT can offer. Following track 'Nuns, Cunts & Darkness' smashes your face into a wall of blasphemous sound, and there is no weakening from here. The deep growls and downtuned guitars are a storm of punches to the gut, your senses are smothered by the sonic onslaught as the use of samples manifests unrest of the mind.

While predominantly mid-paced, "...Apocalyptic…" feels more chaotic and hostile than many faster bands, while still making room for skillful hooks as melodic respite amidst the chaos. The album ends on a high with 'Funeral Pyre Of Trinity', an intense display of extreme ferocity and unrestrained aggression. It demands sustained, undivided attention. The album marked a shift in the band's approach and set a precedent for a following trilogy of releases. More on that can be read below in our conversation with main composer Ritual Butcherer.

Few artists have created such a distinctive and frighteningly consistent sound as this Finnish trio, there is not a single release in their discography unworthy of its spot. And DMP is beyond proud to have had these unhinged legends on our roster for 13 years and counting. And just like you, we too can never get enough of ARCHGOAT. Let's see what the future brings. In the meantime: listen to ARCHGOAT or go down in shame, ruin and disgrace.

Listen to the album here:

We contacted guitarist and composer Ritual Butcherer to reflect upon the creation of "The Apocalyptic Triumphator":

Q: Hey Ritual Butcherer! When you think back to the days this album was composed and recorded, what comes to your mind? What are the most vivid images about this album?

Hails, the first thing that comes to my mind is, that this was the first ARCHGOAT album that I composed alone also including the lyrics and the lyrical arrangements. It all started when I got the opportunity to record the material in home studio and allowed me a vast world of opportunities to try out different "modules" with minimal effort. This I would say that encouraged me to put some diversity and new elements to our music. The one thing I would say as being the biggest change was, that everything was brought a step away from the earlier "out-of-control" style and this album was the first and base for the trilogy of "The Apocalyptic Triumphator", "The Luciferian Darkness" and "Worship The Eternal Darkness".

Q: In an older interview with New Noise Mag you mentioned that "The Apocalyptic Triumphator" was crafted in three different creative phases which is also a reason why the album might sound a bit more varied than other ARCHGOAT ones. Are there three creative phases also directly visible in the track list?

For the album release the important thing was/is how the plot, the elements or blocks work together instead of putting weight on the creation of the pieces. The phases I had for this album do not directly mirror on in which order the songs were put together and I was more after the scenario, where 1 + 1 is more than 2. The album was first from us were there was a sequence of steps that was further planned than earlier. Also here "The Apocalyptic Triumphator" set the standard for the following trilogy albums, where the same concept was used.

Q: We can find some absolute ARCHGOAT classics on this record which are also frequently played live like 'Nuns, Cunts & Darkness' or the title track. But do you have the feeling there are some songs on this record which were perhaps a bit underappreciated by the audience?

There are only 3 songs from this album that we have played live. I don't know really how other people rate or so the songs but we made ourselves the decision that these 3 should be put on the set list and I would myself think that these are the songs from this album people want to hear. Looking back 10 years on how this album has aged I would say that there are in my honest opinion not a single song, that we could not play live – "just killers, not fillers" kind of album.

Q: In an older interview with No Clean Singing you stated that the two Extreme Metal bands which were perhaps the most influential concerning sound/production (not songwriting) for this album were CARCASS and their "Reek Of Putrefaction" album as well as CELTIC FROST. Would you still say that this is correct?

Now that is not correct. These bands and the albums were musically among the most influential releases, that gave us a perspective to which direction we want to guide our musical creativity. The tempo changes from CARCASS combined with the "groove" from CELTIC FROST were the elements that we wanted to include to our music as well. Sound wise "Reek Of Putrefaction" is brutal as hell but still in my opinion far weaker than "Symphonies Of Sickness" where the heaviness of CARCASS really comes audible due to great production of the album. I would say, that what worked for CARCASS and CELTIC FROST sound wise was not optimal for us as we play much faster tempos than the 2 mentioned and therefore needed to create our own "trademark sound" in which we did quite well.

Q: Diabolus Sylvarum was a guest on this album before he later joined the band for a couple of years. Did you just send him the songs of "The Apocalyptic Triumphator" when they were finished, and he took care of the keyboard arrangements?

He played live the effects, organ sounds and basically everything we had on our albums to bring all the elements of the songs to live show. For the recording sessions he played what was asked from him and did not in any way take part on the song composing process. Also, he was live member during his stay in the band and not a band member which job he handled perfectly and set the standard for the live members following him.