If you can’t trust blackened speed metal in the hands of a hellion named Witchfucker then who can you trust? Known for his work in Incantation Spells and Dekapited, Camilo Pierattini’s new solo project Sign of Evil is a whole new Beast (of Revelation). On the Psychodelic Horror EP, the project emerges from Chilean shadows as a feral variant of black metal and goth-tinged post-punk. With a variety of physical formats including cassettes (available now from Caligari Records) and a 7″ release (available for pre-order from Edged Circle Productions), Decibel has snared an exclusive Sign of Evil stream below before the album’s March 12th release.
With rollicking bass beckoning the listener closer, “Death Will Rise” immediately embodies the mystique of the Psychodelic Horror title. Like Devil Master or fellow Caligari Records project Tristengrav, Sign of Evil’s take on raw Bathorian black metal sounds like it’s summoned by gutter punks in a haunted house. “Guilty” and the main thrust of “Horror” rampage around a passage of eerie occult synth; a brief interlude so Witchfucker can wipe the blood from his guitar strings. Any comparisons to speed metal may suggest the riffs are polished and ready to cleanly slice. But one of the album’s charms is the dirty, imperfect persistence of each song. Psychodelic Horror has all the lurid bravado of a ’70s giallo, with the garish colors and bloodshed to match. Sure, the plot of some of the songs can be sloppy. But plot holes didn’t stop Dario Argento from becoming a horror legend. Sign of Evil’s debut is a sleazy blast of fun for bullet-belted horror freaks that packs a lot of wild ideas into a 12+ minute EP.