As of Sept. 11 (drummer Aaron Kitcher’s birthday), Infant Annihilator has finally released their third studio album that has taken the metal world by storm. The Battle of Yaldabaoth is filled with astounding vocal performances, marvellous guitar leads/riffs, and brutal blast beats. All of these qualities show listeners just how talented this three-piece band really is. The band has challenged political correctness by bringing forth controversial occult themes through the passion the members pour into everything they do.
The lyrical content may be sickening and unnerving to some; however, it delivers the same type of shock factor that many metal bands have become very successful through executing. Infant Annihilator delivers this shock factor monumentally through the intensity of the drums and guitar and the raw talent of Dickie Allen’s screams. Allen has become exponentially popular in the underground metal scene and I regard him to be one of the best.
The cover of the album depicts the Battle of Yaldabaoth itself with two abhorrent non-human armies with a large, black cathedral in the background underneath a clouded, bloodshot moon. Although the battle looks grand and mythological, it’s merely a creation by the band. The album deals with disturbing themes such as the prevention of the Second Coming and disposing of infants in order to prevent it. Of course, this is all a satirical hyperbole based on the Catholic Church’s rhetoric and acts they’ve committed in the past. The vulgar and sinister lore behind Infant Annihilator can be a turn-off as it deals with perturbing themes that cause people to cringe and scoff; however, it should not be taken seriously, along with most metal bands in the death metal genre.
The title track, “The Battle of Yaldabaoth,” is a prime demonstration of the band members’ abilities. It features vocalist Alex Teyen who sings in guitarist Edward Pickard’s second deathcore band, Black Tongue. The song is filled with heavy, orchestral guitar riffs and brain-quaking growls, plus an ending no one saw coming. It starts out as a slow vocal solo by Teyen then suddenly takes a U-turn by implementing a strange, melodic guitar lick beside a simple drum track with a couple random outbursts that shock the listener. It is safe to say nothing like this song, never mind the album, has ever been heard or created before; I personally will be listening to it for decades to come.
This style of music may not be enjoyed by all and it takes a finely tuned ear and cranked sound system to hear everything that’s going on. However, this genre of music is where passion like no other is conveyed and expressed in a way that takes fans to another world. It is thanks to great new metal albums like this that an increasing part of the population can always have something to bang their head to.
