Originally written by Jordan Campbell
No, this isn’t a reissue of a long-lost, proto-Arghoslent demo from 1990. This, unfortunately, is a novice black metal band. Despite the fact that at least two bands in their home country of Germany carry the same name, this trio seemed to think that naming themselves Genocide was somehow unique and/or creative when they formed in 2006. Well, here’s a news flash, dudes: it’s not. And neither is your music.
This fact is more than a slight letdown. Ván have established themselves as a highly intruiging record label, and it was assumed that Genocide would be another worthy entry to their enigmatic stable of bands. At the very least, Apocalyptic Visions would be quirky or fucked-up enough to illict some type of reaction, right? Wrong. This is a clump of lifelessly produced, obnoxiously generic tripe with minimal value. I can’t fathom the circumstances leading up to this release….upon recieving Genocide‘s demos and ultra-grim ‘please sign us’ letter, Ván probably just said, “Fuck it. They’re German, we’re German. We’re the hotspot for black metal these days, right? Someone will buy this shit.”
That someone is either foolishly loose with their blind purchases, or has rock-bottom standards when it comes to drummers that can keep time, guitarists that can simultaneously form chords while tremelo picking, or bands that uphold the “heavy” requirement of the term “heavy metal”.
There’s not a whole lot to say about this one, folks. This is poorly played, horrifically derivative stuff. Artistically, I expected more from Ván than an album containing titles like “Eternal Holycaust”. If you, the reader, expected more substance from this review, I apologize; but quite simply, nothing about this limp dick of a record elicits any semblance of ire or wit, and there are much more exciting things to be discussing in this stellar metal climate of 2008.
