(We present Daniel Barkasi’s review of a new album by the Spanish black metal band Aversio Humanitatis, which is out now on Debemur Morti Productions.)
The question of why we dedicate so much time and energy to this music isn’t one that pops up into this writer’s brain often; to the initiated, there’s a plethora of reasons, of course. Once in a great while, a band or an album does serve as a stark reminder of what makes this boiling underbelly of audible chaos so very special.
Enter Spain’s Aversio Humanitatis, a band who have regularly been a part of my admittedly expansive rotation. Most notably with the release of 2020’s Behold the Silent Dwellers – an album that made these ears perk up immediately, like our dog Jericho when we’re making salads (yes, our good boy loves romaine lettuce). There’s a discordance woven into that album that keeps it off-kilter enough to satiate my hunger for music that doesn’t stick to pre-defined genre guardrails. Moreover, the innate skill to compose truly intriguing black metal that’s equally enraged and impetuous is a combination that’s irresistible.
Six years have passed, and Aversio Humanitatis finally returned with To Become the Endless Static in tow, their third full-length effort via the always reliable Debemur Morti Productions, who are on a hot streak unlike any other label in 2026 for this fellow’s money. What was in store was beyond whatever one’s imagination could devise.
What stands out from the outset of the all-important first track “Long Stretch the Shadows” is the drastic uptick in pure, unadulterated intensity. The band haven’t been lacking in that department previously, mind you, but they’ve stoked an already-steady fire into a full blaze of contempt. Notably, the guitar work by the duo of D. and S. is a tidal wave of monstrous, droning riffs and dissonant, nightmarish leads. Their attack is more steadfast, dangerously potent, and outright nasty. Furthermore, their fleshed-out full-on assault isn’t without painstaking detail, giving this opener – and the whole record – a serious depth that leaves much to uncover.
The title track continues the unbridled hysterical incursion, somehow not only maintaining the established vitality, but delving further down into the unsettling mood. Vocalist A. holds nothing back – his deep growls apply a dosage of a death metal grit, whereas his hearty howls and screams invoke that crude, primal black metal spirit. “Blackened Mold Marrow” doesn’t let up either, traversing differing pathways of menace by adding some key tempo shifts to add further to their unpredictability, whilst also delivering a rhythmic thumping courtesy of drummer J. and his meticulous timing and full-blown power. Some black metal acts lack the proper thrust and heft, making their music too trebley and thin; Aversio Humanitatis is the opposite, showing exactly how to do it oh so right.
In what perhaps may be the most disquieting entry, the aptly titled “Strange Angles” keeps the album’s trajectory of disconcerting aural horror firmly on course, while “The White Noise is Calling” goes hand-in-hand via connective tissue that keeps To Become the Endless Static at a steady flow of abrasive punishment. These pieces in particular spark the thought of what it might sound like if Ulcerate decided to make a black metal album. Much like the famed death metal mainstays, the technical prowess is top quality, and the inventiveness is off the charts.
“Collapsing into the Resonance” completes the ensemble; a track that is the closest to the death metal realm we get with a few of the rhythms, but absolutely retaining the distressingly ominous ambience that To Become the Endless Static consistently and adamantly retains. The burst of extreme fury that concludes the song and the record serves as a flawless payoff that leaves the listener catching their breath.
Aversio Humanitatis take us on a chilling expedition, managing to cram an alarmingly high number of ingredients into the album’s just under 35-minute duration. The level of ingenuity present is in and of itself impressive, but add in the tight cohesion and the collective fervent execution, and you have a defiant statement of a release. The stringent attention to every detail reminds of Panzerfaust, where the bursting creativity and maniacal, dreadful atmosphere stokes comparisons to Misþyrming and Abyssal. All bands that are of the very best in their respective approaches, and Aversio Humanitatis are breathing the same rarified air.
We can state without hesitation that Aversio Humanitatis have produced what will become a modern black metal classic. It’s difficult to imagine this album not gracing my year-end, and to all challengers, we’ll leave you with the immortal words of the great Al Bundy before he defeated his high school nemesis Bubba “Spare Tire” Dixon: “Let’s rock.”
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aversiohumanitatis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aversiohumanitatisofficial/
Bandcamp: https://everlastingspew.bandcamp.com/album/incongruous-forms-of-evergrowing-rot