Album Review: Apep - Before Whom Evil Trembles
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Amongst the successors to Nile’s legacy, a small group of bands have emerged as of late: Maat, Crescent and, in this case, Apep. Named after the Egyptian God of Chaos, Apep are aptly titled as they prepare to release their second full length album: Before Whom Evil Trembles. Apep were founded in Saxony, Germany, back in 2016, and quickly found their niche sound as they release their first self-titled Demo a year later, and cemented it further with a Single in 2019. 2020’s The Invocation Of The Deathless One however is where my experience of the band began as they came out of the gates with a furious passion to showcase, and now four years on the band are back with their sophomore full length work slated for a September 13th release date. Now signed onto War Anthem Records Apep aspire to unleash their first record alongside a record label, so here’s hoping there’s more to come with them. This is Before Whom Evil Trembles.
It’s striking as to how clear Apep’s production is, especially when they throw so much at us at any given time. The moment the record starts the band are commencing their assault upon you, with all the assortment of blast beats, grand riffs and the swelling, bellowing vocals one should expect from such a record; though the band are clearly here not to mess around, the record itself is surprisingly cut and dry, it doesn’t attempt to muddy itself in some vain effort to appear darker or heavier than it already is. Our ability to digest their songwriting is exceedingly straightforward as the band allow us the space and time to experience everything they have prepped for us. The record is hardly what you’d deem as “clean” but it’s appropriately polished, or at least as polished as it needs to be for the band to get the desired effect across. We can interpret everything the band are throwing at us but it’s just rough enough that the band carry a sense of grit throughout their performance. They may not be striving to destroy you but their performance is thoroughly believable that you can’t not pay attention to what they offer.
One curious aspect is how the band hardly ever stop. Whilst it’s expected Apep should incorporate songwriting that continuously invigorates us and their own soundscapes across what can be lengthy tracks, it’s amazing that the band rarely slow down for anything at all. Often a band may throw in some doomier element, or include a passage of steadier, crawling pacing to break up the flow of a track, yet Apep don’t do that to any considerable degree. As you listen, listen closely to how the band bridge the numerous sequences of death metal together and you’ll notice how hypnotic it almost feels. The band do away with the conventional linking sections that bind extreme metal tracks together and instead inject their songwriting with variations of riffs and bridges that are unique to what the primary track progression is showing us, but is still different enough that when the band do introduce these moments they’re genuinely eye-opening. It’s what gives the band this sense of incessant trajectory, as they simply refuse to slow down or give you time to breathe; once you start a song that will be it until they decide it’s over; Apep give you no control over how their songwriting will go.
Much like their contemporaries Maat and Crescent, Apep’s choice of subject matter is based around Egyptian mythology in the vein of their spiritual godfathers, Nile. As a result, once you start up an Apep record, whether that be this piece or their debut record some years ago, you get an idea of how their sound will already be. Now, that’s not necessarily a drawback even if the general gist of their sound has already been determined before a second is played for you, since the band are doing more than enough to warrant your attention at all times. What is nice to discover is Apep may play music about Egyptian mythology but the actual soundscape itself doesn’t beat you over the head with it; like their previous release, Before Whom Evil Trembles is first and foremost a work of death metal before imbuing the songwriting with that tell within the riffs and guitar tones. The riffs themselves aren’t always these titanic slabs either, for they can also become these extremely intricate sequences that chop up their attack and instil a greater technicality into a record that’s otherwise pretty heavy on the grand, sweeping onslaught.
It’s perfectly accepted that the drums should imbue their record with a strong performance, for drumming more often than not sets the pace by which the rest of the band are playing at. However, Apep’s drumming is completely non-stop and, as we’ve covered beforehand, refuses to acknowledge how the audience may feel at any given moment for you are brought directly under the band’s spell and its drums are no different. Whilst blast beats and bass drums do a great deal at bringing your attention solely upon the band’s songwriting, it must be stated this isn’t some blast beat marathon from start to finish. Merlin Friedrich may only be young but he’s bound to make waves following this record’s release for his performance is as varied as it is massive; behind his kit he manages to somehow utilise every single possible component one could attach to a drumming kit as. Blast beats can assail us one minute only to be succeeded by a more sweeping array of Tom-toms and cymbals where you can actively hear him playing left to right to left again across his assembled pieces. His drums are half the reason Before Whom Evil Trembles is as grand in scope as it feels.
In conclusion, Apep’s second full length album is this grand affair that will take you to the furthest vistas of ancient Egypt but manages to do so without feeling burnt out at all on its soundscape. Even when the band are climaxing with a more than ten minute track it never feels like the band have thrown so much at you both at you that their sound grows stale. We’ve firmly established the band’s ethos is to write a stellar work of death metal first and then inject those Egyptian themes into their songwriting afterwards; that should always be the philosophy bands adopt when playing with certain themes or notions in mind. Once the record begins you’re locked in, or rather the band themselves lock you in as there’s no route for withdrawal, for are the band vying to relax the tempo they play at during any significant portion of the record. Their unique style of linking passages of music together ensures there’s not a moment where your attention is forever fixated on their performance and for a record that this committed to bombarding your flesh, Apep never wear you out. A great work of Nile-inspired death metal, it’s another great release for that small niche of extreme metal fans will delight over.
