While I enjoy praising Satan with every bone that comprises my body, I am not musically inclined. Therefore, I cannot properly praise Satan in the way that pleases our Dark Lord the most. Thus, I have to rely on bands like Adversarial to write some twisted, evil and completely deranged music in his honor. With their second full-length, Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism, Adversarial have paid honor to Satan in the best way possible.

With their blistering black metal, Canadian blasphemers Adversarial create swirling chaos — chaos in which the listener is entranced to such a state as to let the evil inside. At that moment when the listener is completely engulfed in the experience, the demons are free to enter his or her soul. This is, or should be, a goal of dark music; preparing the listener for demonic insertion, lubricating the soul if you will, is of crucial importance to Satan. And dark music is the best way to prepare mortal souls for harvesting.

Musically, Adversarial is adept and talented, flying effortlessly through the chord changes and melodic frequencies that serve to enhance the evil undercurrent of their music. The vocals are guttural, like the sounds of a demon with a throat full of fire. The drums are often in full blast mode, but carry enough diversity to maintain interest. The guitars are two-fold. While on the one hand, there is a depth to the playing, there is also a shrill, dissonant layer of strings pervasive throughout. Even the two interludes, with their samples and crackling fire, serve to enhance the black hole of evil for which our dark lord so very deeply yearns.

As someone who has existed before the dawn of time, I have born witness to many linguistic developments. It’s appreciated to see a band with such in-depth song titles as “Old Ruins Slumber in a Crushing Hatred of Man,” “Cursed Blades Cast Upon the Slavescum of Christ” and “Lone Wresting Hymns to the Warmoon of Chaos,” not to mention the title track. It’s refreshing to see a band so forward with their message. And such a great message it is.

As a servant of the great Dark Lord, I can promise you that Adversarial is approved by Asmodeus himself. They are pure evil through and through, and as a bonus, create quite enjoyable music. Satan himself compared them to Antediluvian and Witchrist — high praise from our Lord and Savior. So go forth and listen to Adversarial with a blackened heart — or preferably, no heart.

-Ritual Grim

Death, Endless Nothing and the Black Knife of Nihilism will be available August 21 on Dark Descent Records. For more information on Adversarial, visit the band’s official website.