Christbane - Psalm I

In the 1982 vigilante film Death Wish 2, Charles Bronson's character, Paul Kersey navigates his way through a gang hideout filled with rats gnawing, mating and squealing. He disturbs the gang and blows one of them away. Kersey then sees a silver crucifix around the neck of another gang member and says, "do you believe in Jesus?" the thug responds with "yes I do," to which Kersey replies, "well you are gonna meet him." He shoots the Christian thug in the chest and you can hear the rats squeaking in the background. That is the introduction to Christbane's new EP, Psalm I.

Psalm I is a ten minute punky black metal jolt of Christian genocide and an eradication of the dogmatic facade. The disillusion and hatred of the church is real and clear, and while the annihilation is 'tongue in cheek' to the point of overblown, and quite obviously detrimental to personal freedom of band members Llyr and Drugoth. They are Christbane and they are a serious band, and in principle, it is a spit in the face to the authoritarian and organised state of Christianity and other religions. Rot upon the cross!

Musically, Psalm I is a furious and intense ride through crusty d-beat and punk infused black metal. What I really enjoy about Psalm I, and the 2023 releases, the 20 minute self titled album, and the Invocation of Chaos EP is that there is a unique quality to the music and approach to production. There are parts where you can hear certain influences, for example Deathcrush era Mayhem, maybe even early Bathory, and the punk attitude of a band like Wolfpack/Wolfbrigade; however, it is the DIY amalgamation of these influences to form a unique sum of those parts - a Voltron of sick punk and old school black metal that goes to battle against it all.

There is a lot to enjoy about Psalm I in such a small amount of time. Distorted bass brings in a Motorhead vibe and the speed and swagger of "Defect" is vital. Everything is drenched in reverb and Drugoth’s drumming has his usual subtle flair, without ever sounding pretentious. He knows exactly when to let things roll, when to accentuate a section or when to blast when required. Vocally, the is grimy stuff from Llyr and occasionally Drugoth, and I get the distinct impression that a lot of these vocals did not need to be tracked again and again. There is a loose energy to the vocals, a live quality that is different to how modern music is produced. I enjoy the thick power chords of "Declaration," and the 1-2-3-4 attitude that kicks in "We Bite" is so cool - bands just aren't cool like this anymore, nor do they offer up the grunts and Tom G Warrior Ughs. “We Bite” is also a Misfits cover, and Christbane’s version does it very good justice.

Psalm I is over way too fast, but the beauty of a ten minute EP is that you can play it three or four times back to back during the car ride into work, with my window down, and past the churches filled with mating rats.