All tamed ears rightfully bristle at the sound of the hedge-riders’ dual approach. Trained in the arts of alchemy these noisome German magickers Boarhammer arrive loud and brash, given their wild streak by way of entheogenic unlock and hoary temperament as their strange brew is concocted through self-hewn methods of natural philosophic observation and unique conjuration of black metal primitivism. ‘II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms‘ is decidedly ‘old school’ in the sense that its main actors are dramatists, inebriated and exaggerative as they wield hammer in one hand and over-packed pipe in another. Seekers of arcane black metal madness, tuneful heavy metal and aching doom should immediately fall ill with the pan-like thrush that afflicts them and happily join in on the declarative resound available to this fine and fuming debut album.

Boarhammer formed as a duo back in 2020 with a singular mind taking inspiration from black metal’s esoteric origins, the strange avant-outliers and freakery before all the killing started. It’d taken about a year for the possession to kick in and at that point their brilliantly realized debut demo tape (‘I: Cutting Wood for Magickal Purposes‘, 2021) surfaced as an album length exploration of the more primal roots of 80’s black metal by way of the graven theatre of albums like ‘Zjevení‘ and heavy rock swept crags of ‘Jilemnický okultista‘ (see: “Spirits on Black Wings”) while yet retaining the boney remnants of slithering grooves patented by Hellhammer and such, something doom-punkish but reverberating away from the speed metallic rush of Mortuary Drape (or, earlier Malokarpatan). Consider that first tape in need of a proper release beyond cassette tape and likewise a clear case of an informal debut album, an essential precursor for the myriad updates available to this second and even more deeply afflicted rite.

Self-described as ritualistic black metal primitivism, touted as first wave and ‘old school’ black metal, even described as proto-black metal by some… the spin available to the Boarhammer experience is of course mostly correct at face value even if ritualistic is a stretch and proto-black unfittingly applied when such modern resuscitation of the style exists in relative abundance. Granted, they’d done a fine job covering “Black Funeral” on their first tape, but I would describe these folks work as less a heavy rock entitled experience and more a study of the more complete linkages between the first and second generations of black metal, weirding heavy metal in its compositional style and affect. Presented in motion this idea is less in tune with the back-to-their-roots side of Darkthrone and moreso a taste for heavy metal seen through the charming individuality of the aforementioned non-Scandinavian side of European black metal groups of the late 80’s.

That said, this second release steps into its own voice quickly as the main vocalist nurtures a bellowing, fully intelligible balk which’ll likely read as a first impression of early Root might upon introduction (“Entering Forest Twylite”) per a tone which is admirably bold, not as operatic as it could be, and a bit mad. The at-times punkish waffling of their rhythms is rooted in momentum rather than heavy metal stomp most of the time, though, and this helps justify the suggested ‘Jilemnický okultista‘ fueled muse as part of their expansive interest in morbid rock and metal music. Guitar progressions are folkish during long-ranting periods of declaration, scrambling slow and upward arc’d when a more hypnotizing touch is called-for (“Skeins of Demented Magick”) yet none of this ever reaches a point of precision or bristling cleanliness, all movements are as mossy and demented as the album artwork might naturally suggest. The best songs on ‘II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms‘ rely less on riffs and more on the tension riddled realm which inspires them, “Tree Transvection” for example presents itself as a leading folkloric vessel shouting down a great ravine in story with several dancelike movements twisted into circular fixation. This’d been the song to assure me that Boarhammer had something unique in their heads and some assurance that the full listen might evolve with interest.

The peak of the full listen and the one to convince I’d better give it another ten spins was probably “Arboreal Portal Ritual” if only because it’d given a sort of epic heavy metal stride to certain movements, proving that I’d not gathered the full vernacular of the band in just four songs and that there was yet more to say. Pairing that song right next to the rousing rhythmic ups and downs of “Behold Those Fell Candles” is smart as the song has even more of an Eastern European folk footwork to its motions while pulling in a heavy/doom metal riff while dancing around the pyre. Even if we do get a few slower moments to enjoy the basslines and snaking leads of the band here and there gone are the more outright doomed pauses of ‘I: Cutting Wood for Magickal Purposes‘ and so arrives the psychedelic froth available to the the second half of this album in its stead. “Extreme Unction” acts as the most pronounced psychedelic drool to break up the swamped-out shouting of the mid-album peaking moments and this carries brilliantly into the rushed-at heights of “Lysovik – Midnight Conjuring Crossroads”. This’d been my favored dynamic on initial listens, enjoying the wandering but vibrantly kicking side of the band which leaves just enough breathing room to follow along.

Just in case you think Boarhammer‘ve had a breakthrough in tuneful songcraft at the endpoint of the album “The Witch” is a famous song from late 60’s/early 70’s German rock band The Rattles complete with psychedelic leads and orchestral highs. They’ve done well to make the song their own, reducing it down to the core impact of the chorus and lending a left hand to the leads. A fine shot of energy to finish the album off which suggests there is more to this band than current throwback black metal status. In that sense there is no great single here so much as there are broadly representative pieces which cover the gamut which ‘II: Chemognosis – A Shortcut to Mushrooms‘ presents in total. Though not every piece they’ve written for this debut album features a shocking moment or action the personality of the band is infectiously rowdy, wizened beyond expectations but also riddled with energetic ideas that keep the full listen of this album entertaining throughout. A high recommendation.

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