PERMAFOG

I wrote a review of Permafog’s debut album in early 2024, and it was my favourite album of the year. There may have been some bias there, with the goat headed demons being from Hobart and I get to see them play live regularly, but they deserve every bit of praise, because they are currently owning the live scene in Hobart, and they went hand to hand with Abramelin recently in terms of intensity and pure class. The guys are all close mates, and it clearly shows. The chemistry on stage is tangible, and on record it is electric.

The backdrop to Permafog’s self-titled debut is a place of grim destruction, an underworld of lost souls – and for that matter: Hell! The Tasmanian Black Metal band began as a social excuse for a bunch of mates to hang out and play music together. Eventually they had a catalogue of songs that deserved to be recorded and released, and those 9 tracks make up Permafog! and it is 45 minutes of ice-cold Black Metal that is as bitter as a Tasmanian Winter.

Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas opens with the track ‘Funeral Fog,’ and that is 6 minutes of chilling but crushing Black Metal, may god bless us all – the fog is here again with Permafog ! And while these guys are not on the level of Mayhem just yet, the quality of their debut release is not too far away – it is that good! The atmosphere is there with Permafog, and the ice-cold riffs flow deep in these Tasmanians – much like they did on Mayhem’s 1994 masterpiece.

The brooding atmosphere is present from the opening seconds of “Bone Corruption,” with an unsettling distorted beginning that sets the scene nicely before all hell is unleashed at 1:20 with an incredibly catchy riff and subsequent vile vocals. It is very difficult to create the type of atmosphere and mood that Permafog have done here without a drenching of synths and samples. “Bone Corruption” is the perfect opening, the mood and the tone does not dissipate. The frozen gates have been stormed and the fog will not lift!

What is prevalent across the whole album is the use of sick and twisted backing vocals that epitomise Belial. They are often used in the choruses (if that is what you would call them). You can call them vocal extensions as they not only provide depth, but they extend the textures into the binary. Humility is a trait that many Australian extreme metal bands possess, and Permafog has that - there is not a second here of posing. I wouldn’t expect it any other way from a bunch of Tasmanians.

The production is very good – everything is clear and audible, but the Mayhem atmosphere, with a touch of early Darkthrone and Satyricon is there in tone and sound. It is organic and real – there is always the feeling that there is something in the background. You can picture the band there in a room with fists clenched! Black smoke rising! Skulls lining the coffee table with empty beer cans everywhere. The eternal ales clenching their thirst.

Melody is present throughout the album, which is presented mainly via the guitars! The strongest example being the acoustic tones of “Onyx Skies,” but even that song title brings with it a darkness that drifts through everything on this album. The grimness runs deep! The cursed land on which Permafog exist does not want them there!

Lyrically, Permafog do a marvellous job at not only conveying the opening to hell and the demon’s crippling birth, but the lyrics about Winter, the sky, wind, rain, the land and the mountains all paint a brilliant picture, and set the backdrop, an underworld of lost souls. The blend of memorable tremolo and meaty chug riffs is well executed, and the placement and timeliness of the vocals and variation in rhythm is an example of extreme metal songwriting perfection - it is clear that Permafog did not throw this together in a few weeks.

“Goat Headed Demon” brings with it a grungy Jerry Cantrell type riff at 2:50 coupled with a swinging tremolo, “Ales Through Eternity” is a beastly vein rupturing track, while the closing track, “Spitting Venom” does just that, it also sums up all that Permafog stands for on this debut! The catchiness and cadence of the vocals are next level as the instruments move towards a climax of desecration!

Permafog does have the worldly experience within of a Mr Jason Peppiatt playing guitar, but when you watch these guys live, every single one of the lads play like Black Metal veterans. Their aesthetic and attitude is grim and sick, and they are improving their stage craft fast. I highly recommend seeing them, because I get the feeling that they will need larger venues at some stage within the next few years. They absolutely owned the larger stage, opening for the Cavalera brothers recently.

The best album of 2024 by an easy margin. Can’t wait for what comes next.