You may expect an album entitled Pure Unadulterated Hate to be a light-hearted affair; funky basslines, tight vocal harmonies, lyrics reminding us of summers past. Not so for Wrath, Murder and the rest of the gang in Teratism, whose third album actually veers more towards the heavier end of the musical spectrum, presenting an intriguing melange of black metal, black metal, and with some unexpected elements of black metal keeping things fresh.

Eschewing the shiny-pop sensibilities of most USBM acts, the sound here is rumbling and slightly faded out as if it were recorded in the next room but with very thin walls. This isn’t really a problem given the type of music this is, although it feels a little obtuse. The songs themselves are often constructed a la a band such as Behexen, with their straightforward and full-speed blackened riffs, and arguably the more full-throated sound of those albums would give this more power. But then, this is meant to be esoteric and slightly arcane, more so than their high-energy Finnish counterparts.

The problem with that is that it’s the blasting that works the best here. There are a few passages where the pace is slowed down to something aiming more at grim ambience, but a lot of the time it doesn’t quite come off, and as such it can seem a little one dimensional. There are original touches, such as the jangly guitar interjections in Igniting the Black Flame, but really little here deviates convincingly from the black metal template.

The artwork here is quite something; a demon with a face where its crotch should be menacing some poor sod in bed. Such is the appeal of this record. Like many of its type, it is most attractive when you immerse yourself in its relentlessly “more satanic than thou” aesthetic, of which the music is but one component. This is not to mention the pun-tastic titles (Wail of the Whorthodox).

It’s decent enough, but there are probably more interesting rough ‘n’ ready black metal bands to be unearthed. Try the recent Archgoat release (reviewed here last week) for something that takes a similar starting point and takes things to a higher level. Ultimately, sure, this is “pure unadulterated hate”; there isn’t really that much else there, and no doubt Teratism wouldn’t have it any other way.