If nothing else Greek one-man black metal machine Dodsferd should be winning the title of one of the most prolific metal bands, regardless of the genre. Judge for yourself – Dodsferd has released six full-length albums since 2006, not counting the split or two (one of them basically with itself, since the pairing was another one of Wrath’s creations Mortovatis). If multi-instrumentalist multi-everything Wrath can compose that much in this span, a metal writer ought to be able to review it. If the man has so much to say, we ought to give him the benefit of a doubt and provide coverage.

I can easily see how this traditional, direct and close-to-the-book black metal can have both its supporters and detractors. With Spitting with Hatred, the Insignificance of Life Dodsferd is closer to its earlier output Death Set the Beginning of My Journey than to its foray into more depressive Xasthurian sound on Suicide and the Rest of Your Kind Will Follow (the long protracted album/song titles never left Dodsferd’s fold). Raucous, punchy, punk-influenced black’n’roll with obvious catchiness and interwoven melodic threads makes its triumphant return on The Hate Goes On and A Pile of Shit; the Only Hope of Your World. The music is just as toxic, strung out and depraved as it was on Death …, only it keeps the secret now longer, without blowing the whole load in one quick shot. Not to mention fuller sound, Wrath has learned to manipulate his tempos and song parts better, so some of his decadent epics lasting more than 10-14 minutes do not get monotonous and boring, a true danger given the (un)originality of his genre. I would be lying if at some point the “let’s blast and rock this baby” approach does not feel old, but Wrath manages to save Your Kingdom Was Built in a Lie with a spicy solo and Preaching Death and Destruction with a catchy chorus. Praying in Vain Under the Shrine of Your God and the title track have better way of presenting a double digit minute black metal opus. The title track starts out slower, resinous and stretchy, doomy at some point, with sickly overdistorted bluesy solo testing the limits of one’s patience. The “calling of King Kong” tribal percussion brings on the riffs fighting AC/DC in both persistency and complexity, or lack thereof.

The best moments of Spitting with Hatred, the Insignificance of Life are still its melodic shreds. Blessed with Wrath’s knowledge to extract the perfect icy, razor-sharp sound from his guitars, the bass/drum rock’n’roll beginning of Your Kingdom Was Built in a Lie or the melodic thrash of The Hate Goes On and A Pile of Shit; the Only Hope of Your World are memorable. At the same time Dodsferd does not milk these moments for all they are worth, often careens out of control and collapses into a wall of despondency after bouncing off the walls in A Pile of Shit; the Only Hope of Your World. The grief at the end of that track is so utterly present, you can strangely acquire fatalistic and serene feeling from it.

And that is the underlying thread I was able to detect with much of this latest Dodsferd album. His crazy overprocessed repressive vocals (although not as wild, cruel and howling as on Death Set the Beginning of My Journey) and ripping black metal cannot hide the fact that underneath it all there is a vulnerable, wounded soul, the pain pouring of his every pore.

So, to both fans and critics of Dodsferd, after Spitting with Hatred, the Insignificance of Life, your positions should not change. There has been little upward, sidewise or any kind of motion with the band. The fans of Horna, Sargeist, early Darkthrone and Satanic Warmaster will still flock to Wrath’s corner. I may then be a fan of simply pleasures, but count me continuing to extract what I personally need from the Dodsferd latest output to still be interested in what Wrath will come up with next.