“Birthed From Sorrow. Life Is Shit.” This is the slogan which appears on Charred Hanging Victim’s Bandcamp page. I made mention of it since it is the only information regarding this band. No Metal Archives page, No Facebook, No Discogs, just these four tracks of unadulterated fury and despair. This stuff may not be for everyone but for those few who enjoy taking off all of the filters in black metal, this could be the perfect thing for the morning.

Raw black and lo -fi in general, is an interesting style because it not only has to be appreciated by a certain palette but it also has to be done right. An absence of fidelity does not automatically make a record better that what it would have sounded like clean rather a rawer production has to enhance the existing sound. The vocals for this release are certainly something to be marveled as the production has made something ghostlike and harrowing. This is the one aspect for Charred Hanging Victim which works in its favor. These vocals however fly over top some rather simple drums and guitar which cloud the mix. Add to this honest to goodness production glitches and one has something that is flat out disgusting to listen to. It is funny that heavy metal is a style in which this type of thing is flocked to by a certain group of listeners.

Charred Hanging Victim remains interesting just for its discovery. I have a running contest with some friends on who can find the bands that have skirted the radar in terms of information. These bands usually end up in the raw black category and Charred Hanging Victim is certainly a find. The sound however maybe too ripe even for myself as I may want to wait for the second harvest.