LEVIFER – southern bestial storms – CD

Black Metal, Death Metal – Werewolf Records

One of South America’s shortest-lived yet undeniably potent cults, Peru’s LEVIFER formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2004, leaving behind but a demo and a split with a then-young GOAT SEMEN. Nevertheless, the sulfurous spirit of those nine primary tracks remains timeless to this day, and it’s with great honor that WEREWOLF compiles LEVIFER’s entire recorded work on one convenient format.

LEVIFER released their lone demo, Tribute to the Supreme Beast, in 2000. For all intents and purposes, though, that demo could’ve been released in 1992, exhibiting a bestial death metal sound comparable to early Mystifier, Naked Whipper, Finland’s Belial, Germany’s Blood, and Brazil’s Impurity. Hulking and at times clanging and atonal but always with utterly gutted savagery, LEVIFER’s first seven songs retain a remarkable sense of ritualistic flow. In 2003, LEVIFER released a two-song split 7” with GOAT SEMEN. Here, their bestiality took on a much-more-blackened aspect, and cavernous atmosphere was compounded tenfold. Sharper songwriting-wise and tighter in execution, these two songs teased at how mesmerizingly awesome LEVIFER could’ve become had they continued. A couple tracks from that very same session were released as bonus tracks on a picture-disc reissue of the demo in 2006, and they’re now collected here on Southern Bestial Storms, bringing together everything mainman Levifer and crew recorded. From the past come the Southern Bestial Storms!