What we have here, is a two way split by Muknal, a newly born blackened death metal band who create a fantastic aura and menacing atmosphere for their music, and another obscure act, The Haunting Presence, which are new to me. Both bands have their distinguished styles and own abominable attitude, but all in all, they both drive you towards the same gate, offering a rather experimental brand of cosmic, befouling black metal with supreme death metal tendencies and such. Both explore the depths of unknown miasma and evil, of blasphemous horror, and you'll be impressed by how complex the music is (Muknal for the most part) underneath that thick cloth we dub as atmosphere, and the music is so seriously evil and drowning that you might actually mistake the riffs for foolish antics, so without further due, I present to you this split.
The split consists of four songs in total, two for each band. That might not suffice, but twenty minutes of compressing black/death should keep you satisfied for some time. Most of the riffage focuses on deep, dense tremolos and sporadic black metal incursions, deviating from the norm with their slightly distinct touches, and both bands can provoke and insert tastiness and spice into the experimental array of riffs, rather than subliminal black metal impulses. When I compare the Muknal here to the Muknal in the previous Ep, I can see little change, which is good, although there are some elements that have been either enhanced or... cleansed, let's say. The drums now have a bigger role in the mix, as they're much sharper and less nullified, riffs a queer amusement to them with the direction more apparent, the vocals have been sharpened and the irrelevant bits and pieces have been trimmed, causing them to sound more ear-piercing and acute than ever, and the production has also been cleaned, improving the two tracks in terms of comprehensibility while still keeping the chaotic side of things fresh and well... chaotic.
Muknal was definitely a quality experience, and the two songs ''Hecatombs'' and ''A Winged Emblem Of Evil'' are well suited for their style. The Haunting Presence was something that I thought would have been a little more cantankerous, like Muknal, but it turned out to be more nostalgic than innovative, henceforth bringing act like Blasphemy, Archgoat, Grave Miasma and Teitanblood to mind. The band plays a heavy, darkened sort of black/death, though unfortunately not so consuming as Muknal even though I certainly enjoyed its bestial approach. My quest was initially for Muknal, but I came with yet another treasure at hand, so the journey was well worth it. With both bands having a goof number of songs ready on their belts, I can see that a debut full-length for both is not remote; at least that's what I hope. Muknal belongs to the more experimental aggregation alongside Portal, Mitochondrion and Antediluvian while The Haunting Presence is a reminiscent of Proclamation, Revenge, Bestial Warlust, etc, but chaotic black metal geeks will find both enjoyable nonetheless.
Highlights:
Hecatombs
Hideous Faces Of Unknown
Winged Emblem Of Evil
Rating: 86%
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