Album Review: Infant Annihilator - The Battle of Yaldabaoth 9.5 (Deathcore)

Infant Annihilator
The Battle Of Yaldabaoth
Technical Deathcore
Hessle, UK
September 11, 2019
9.5/10

After a couple of years of anticipation, there’s finally a new Infant Annihilator album and it’s gotten a wide reception charting the top 10 on iTunes. The band has always turned heads from various scenes within metal, but this album may be their most accessible to date with both hardcore kids and metalheads finding a worthy record in The Battle of Yaldabaoth. It’s a brilliant piece of self-released music from a provocative trio, it simply delivers.

I’m getting Between The Buried And Me vibes with some of the song structure and tones, and similarly is one of those bands who transcend their genre tags like deathcore and metalcore into something more anomalous. There are very clearly masters at the top of their game and Infant Annihilator are one of those bands now. Halfway through The Battle of Yaldabaoth I had the thought that these guys are the Cradle Of Filth of deathcore, which is to say they’re cheesy, technically proficient and for some people an addictive “guilty pleasure”. The vocal delivery also has similarities that I appreciate.

The aspect of the music that is usually most commented on beyond their provocative homoerotic music videos and band name, is the insane drumming which naturally returns here possibly with more moderation. It’s also a treat to listen to with the tone used, it’s some Mr Miyagi kicking drops of water or becoming air shit at some points with how lightly it blasts. Feathery? Other times the bass is huge on the drums to accompany the more aggressive blast beats. They know how to mix it well too.

“Ov Sacrament and Sinces” has some fantastic guitar riffs with almost electronica tones used to a very melodious effect. There’s also some nice Opeth-esque riffs that bring a synth-like vibe to some of the tracks, sounding sci-fi. The sweep pick and tapping solos sound perfect too. The music is really effective and feels nuanced, the term “technical” deathcore is deserved here for sure.

Any metalheads still dubious or stubborn in regard to this album, IA got accepted into the Metal-Archives based on the irresistible heaviness of this release. It has decent length and consistent variety, it’s possibly the best deathcore album made, and one of the better metal releases this year.

This one is for sure going to be on the end of year lists, now is the perfect time to try and swoop in and stick in people’s memories.

9.5/10