Whenever a new Anaal Nathrakh album hits the streets, I get about as excited as when a new Cephalic Carnage record or a new Atheretic record are released. If you’ve seen me practically fellate these acts you’d know that I get pretty damn excited. I practically soil myself. Do you blame me? The first time I unloaded Anaal Nathrakh’s The Codex Necro into my CD player I jumped behind my sofa wondering what the fuck was emerging from my stereo system and why was it so God damn fucking vile. Anaal Nathrakh is quite literally the sonic embodiment of hate; if there was a musical equivalent to an Auschwitz oven or a mass immolation, it would most likely be an Anaal Nathrakh song.

Hell Is Empty and the Devils Are Here continues this tradition of totally fucking hate. To give a sense of what Anaal Nathrakh sounds like to the uninitiated, Anaal Nathrakh play a very grind-influenced style of black metal. If you can imagine Emperor as played by a black metal version of Watchmaker, you more or less hit the nail on what Anaal Nathrakh and this very pedantically-titled album sound like. The riffs go through a hybrid of grind and black metal sensibilities, with squealing solos and heavy as fuck, machine gun-style drumming. The vocal approach runs the gamut from tortured blackened screams, guttural roars, vomit-like shrieks, and the occasional melodic Emperor-styled falsetto. It’s impossible to not love the shit out of the falsetto driven songs because they’re so God damn fucking catchy; they’re practically fucking black metal anthems.

To make things even better there are the guest appearances on the album. Everybody’s favorite Circle of Dead Children frontman, Joe Horvath, does guest vocals on "Genetic Noose". He does ALL of the vocals on "Genetic Noose". You hear that inhuman, gurgling beast rampaging through the song? The complete abomination of a life form that is furiously shoving his landmine-ridden, oversized cock down your throat is good ‘ole Joe. Boy, this song kicks ass. Also, Shane Embury of Napalm Death lends guest work on the bass, but- eh- that’s just not as cool Joe’s presence on "Genetic Noose".

Hell Is Empty and the Devils Are Here has not once left my cd player or my digital playlist since its release, and there is a good reason why: it’s one of the best releases of 2007. Hands down. If you have not acquired this filthy album in some manner or another, it’s mandatory you do so. What? You don’t like black metal? I don’t fucking care if Irrumator raped your pet dog and shoved shit in your mouth, you fucking pansy, because you’re going to grab this God damn fucking album. And you’re going to fucking love it, every vomit-drenched, corpse-ridden, artillery-singed second of it. Written By: Necro-tron