Review: “Filth Majesty” by Hoc Est Bellum

Taking their name from the Latin for “This is War“, Helsinki Finland based Blackened Death Metal trio Hoc est Bellum crawled from a crypt in 2022 as a force of Extreme Metal devoted to creating battle hymns steeped in filth, blasphemy and destructive fervour. Their 2023 demo, built on raw aggression and ritualistic intensity, should have served as a warning to an unsuspecting world about what they were capable of but instead it only saw them signing with Time To Kill Records. Recorded and mixed by Mikael Neves (Death Toll 80k, Tryer, Qwälen) at Waiting Room Recording studio and mastered by Dan Lowndes (Cerebral Rot, Penny Coffin, Sepulchral Curse) at Resonance Sound Studio, it is written upon ancient scrolls that their debut album is forged in an atmosphere of apocalyptic dread, it’s cryptic writings visions of humanities imminent extinction.

The half an hour of grinding and bestial Blackened Death Metal chaos begins with the ambient textures of “The Desolator (Intro) / Deify, Degenerate“, an introduction piece that sounds like it could be the soundscape to the infamous and surreal blood elevator scene from Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. It was only ever a matter of time before the track exploded into barbed riffs, thunderous percussion and caustic vocals and when it does it’s like nails running down a chalk board. Fiercely intense, vocally savage and sonically aggressive like a storms warning of impending doom. That continues with the 130 second burst of violent turbulence that is “Black Metal Terror“, a cut which sees vocal layering put to good use. Death growls are at the forefront of those with a ear piercingly shrill backing vocal adding contrast in such a complete way that only a bath in acid is required to cleanse.

After a track that could shatter glass in a two mile radius from wherever its heard, the Blackened Hardcore groove of the opening riffs of “Vomit Black Ecstasy” feel like a warm welcome. It’s still as primitive, raw and ugly but it shows there is more to this band than might initially meet the ear. That’s something that is reflected in the mirror that is “Passion of the Antichrist” as the trio slow things down initially before whipping up a violent storm of pounding percussion that has little moments that border on tribal. If the band set out simply to play as hard, loud and abrasive as possible then their mission is complete.

Rattling the cages of the damned in hell “Blood of the VVytches” sounds like Hautajaisyö on steroids until it transcends into an ambient melody that is as disturbing as they come. As a mid album cut it’s perfectly placed to provide a moment of calm before the nail storm that is “Nightside Necromancy“, another short, sharp shock of a violent delight best served cold. The tempo slows for a menacing and sinister introduction to “Winds of Decay” that then bursts into chaos with feral vocals before bringing back the control. It feels like getting slapped in the face by a concrete slab, the screams of cathartic anguish an escape from the terror of this world.

“Serpent of the Black Pit” surfaces like a German U boat in World War II, an ominous presence which finds the band doing their upmost to trigger the brain haemorrhage of the discerning listener while at the same time looking to blow out their amps. The sonic break for an ethereal moment mid cut is gloriously malevolent, the tempo shift perfectly executed with majestic musicianship. There is even time for a bass solo that that grows into demonic hell sounds in a last gasp effort to cause spontaneous combustion.

Returning to the grinding Death intensity, the buzz-saw riffs of “The Goatborn Ones” ignite the flames of hell once more, the trio producing something akin to Mayhem playing a Discharge cover in their damp, dark basement torture chamber rehearsal space. As for “Beast Ejaculate / Spiral of Sodomy (Outro)” well… it has a mid-tempo crush and demonic gravely low vocals with almost tribal drum fills and sounds like an occult ritual. The spoken word is pure, unadulterated evil and the screams that follow sound like you’ve been caught in the winds of plague. Make no mistake Hoc est Bellum are a chaos engine to be trifled with at your peril… [7/10]

Track Listing

1. The Desolator (Intro) / Deify, Degenerate
2. Black Metal Terror
3. Vomit Black Ecstasy
4. Passion of the Antichrist
5. Blood of the VVytches
6. Nightside Necromancy
7. Winds of Decay
8. Serpent of the Black Pit
9. The Goatborn Ones
10. Beast Ejaculate / Spiral of Sodomy (Outro)

“Filth Majesty” by Hoc Est Bellum is out 26th June 2026 via Time To Kill Records and is available over at bandcamp