AD HOMINEM - FRANCE

AD HOMINEM - TOTALITARIAN BLACK METAL - OSMOSE  
It is easy and straightforward to both like and dislike Ad Hominem, a French solo act, from the get-go. On the one hand, there's the weak Nazi bullshit running through the veins of this act's sole man, Kaiser (ehem). Being a loser is one thing. Being a loser who wants his country invaded and occupied by a bunch of historical losers is another thing. Much of the lyrics are moronic, of course, and easily refutable. Musically, solo acts are often cursed with drum machines and Ad Hominem is no different. The music, however, is where the band rises. This is pretty much a no-nonsense brutal speedfest from start to finish, with parts that truly rage.The vocals spew hate on top of the 30 minutes of extremism that the man terms "totalitarian black metal." Snort The Ashes Of God is a pounding instrumental intro that becomes faster and faster culminating into a promise for the rest of this disc. Chickenshit fascism aside, It is easy to see why this man is on Osmose Productions. The intro is reminiscent of Impaled Nazarene and Kaiser is very "black metal" and "totalitarian," but that has not stopped him from setting up a Facebook (et al) account, longing for publicity, connections and corporate membership. This was worth mentioning because the next track is Choke The Woke, very much a Satyricon song with a heavy bass sound, is a rhyming title exactly like the kind of juvenile posts one reads on social media. Kaiser is clearly not immune to the influence of social media posts and herd mentality. The Nuclear Solution is somewhat repetitious, but at least this act has crushing speed on repeat mode. Much that follows nods to old Satyricon with added speed. Black Stone Circle Pit is about Mecca, Muslims, mockery and the "allah o akbar" lyrics that go with it. The momentary guitar screech is welcome, especially since the man has precluded soloing from his band. The drum machine is especially abhorrent and boring here. The mention of boys having a penis and girls having a vagina is right in line with mainstream Republican/Conservative/Taliban beliefs and Ad Hominem is onboard. Of course, this is low-IQ simplification, but then again no one ever ascribed intelligence to rightist sheeple. Still, it's funny that such a mainstream and traditional methodology is part of a man who presumably believes he is rebellious or different. Either way, the lyrics invariably repeat the man's aforementioned favoured phrase. Saturday Night Gulag with its folk anthem and Stairway To Oven show that the man has a sense of humour after all. The latter is the definition of rage and the listener would indeed suffer from being overly exposed to it. This one nods at Dark Funeral and Marduk. This track is likely the best one here with its delicious riffing. Too bad the man is ostensibly singing of Frenchmen being rounded up by Nazis.
There are no gaps between the songs, no solos and just hatred spewed on song after song that, nevertheless, fades out like a pop tune. The blood-gurgling vocals and raging speed are impressive. Stupid trendy right-wing ideology gleaned from social media and internet forums, however, are not. Hating Jews, trans people, men and women questioning their identity and then advocating to keep minorities down is feeble and for bullies. Imposing on and mocking of minorities by the majority is not correct and a metal fan should understand that. Metal was invented as an instrument of unity and the fight against the powerful - not for divisive and narrow-minded foolery. High marks for the vocals and the music. Low marks for the lyrics, the contradiction inherent in the act and the run-of-the-mill nagging about things being woke. - Ali "The Metallian"