Where did all the artists and bands and projects come from that are attempting to project this bleak hopelessness and horrid despair (well, maybe I am just taking notice of it because Black Metal musicians have been doing it for ages it seems), and why do so many of these musicians just fall so completely short of actually conveying any such emotion or inkling of a feeling? Well, all of these questions were thrown out of my head when I put the Prayer EP from blsphm on my stereo as the shards of noise and anguished screams spilled from the speakers, and quite literally I found myself forgetting about most things period; it is an awesome ride.
It may be hard to imagine that a piece of music with no drums or percussion or anything obviously keeping a beat may possibly feel as though it contains a brisk beat but that is exactly the impression that I get as Prayer (particularly when you compare this EP with Horrors Of Heaven, which was released afterward but my first real listening experience with blsphm), not that we are talking blast beats or double kick drum breakdowns; but there is definitely a more kinetic energy imbued in the three tracks on this CDr that sounds as if the sonic maelstrom is barely being contained by the stereo. At some points (like in the title track where the vocals sound like the wild ravings of a mad man) the music is devastating and absolutely unhinged while at other times, the music is almost controlled and nightmarish in its delivery (as heard on “The Gate”).
Prayer is an excellent outing from blsphm and an early indicator that the project has a strong grasp of just where the project is going and can accomplish with sonic manipulation, and looking at the EP from a more visceral standpoint, this sucker is killer with plenty of noise and ear shattering sound to melt your mind in the best ways possible and with some seemingly serious malice behind all the swirling sonic atmospheres; blsphm continues to impress with each new release and each new aural territory that it explores or nudges into while fashioning a real disturbing body of work, and Prayer is a great example of the growth and overall mastery of the noise that it fashions.
