Fleshgod Apocalypse - Mafia EP (2010)

Similar to their fellow Italian death metal act Hour of Penance, who have even shared some of the same lineup, Fleshgod Apocalypse, have made a huge splash upon the worldwide underground death market for their combination of highly presentable studio presentation, technical wherewithal and punishing, dynamic composition. Much like the behemoth squid on the cover of this EP writhes its tentacles through an angry sea, Mafia seeks to quickly follow last year's debut Oracles as a statement of solidarity, a proof positive that lightning can strike twice and that Fleshgod plans on an ensuing series of electrical storms that penetrate the dense, earthy crust of the death metal fan's robust skull.

The use of 'behemoth' in that opening paragraph was not an accident, because the opening moments of "Thru Our Scars" immediately bring to mind the better known Polish band, who also have staked their fame on a similar, modern excess of fast paced death metal embellishment with no lack of atmospheric content. You'll also be reminded of Hate Eternal, and by logical extension Morbid Angel, but Fleshgod goes all out with blasting fury to try and push beyond this point. I personally liked the little flourishes here as with the brief inclusion of female vocals and the spicy classical lead break in the bridge, but otherwise its just a wall of force that impedes upon the gravity of the listener without truly conspiring to create memorable riffing. This holds true to my feelings for their debut Oracles: monumental production, great musicians and enough aggression to blow a barn door off, like a tornado, but beyond a half hour of ass handing they don't really write much for the long term reflection.

But then, the end of this track swells with subverted melodies that lead into the rolling, double bass barricade of "Abyssal", which is slightly superior in the riffing, a flurry of chaos like the breaking of the waters on the EP's cover, something sinister just beneath with its gaze focused upon you and the separation of your limbs. It's not perfect, but there's a good lead here and its overall more exciting, despite the slower pace. "Conspiracy of Silence" is back to the blasting, an Italian advancement upon the tried extremity of Hate Eternal or the more excessive Polish bands like Vader and Hate. The drums are disgusting, the dark, melodic weaving of the guitars welcome, but otherwise the brickhouse blasted riffs are quite forgettable. "Mafia" is a piano piece sans vocals, which is actually a nice closure to the album thought it bears no real connection to the original death metal works. Also present is a cover of At the Gates' "Blinded by Fear", from their seminal Slaughter of the Soul. The Italians hack away at it, making it faster and perhaps more repulsive, but without the patented Lindberg snarling, its just not the same.

In all, Mafia presents about 17 minutes of new, modern, brutal death metal which should have the feathers of the bands inherent fanbase in a ruffle, though to my ears, there is not all that much impressive about it. The drumming is a whirlwind, the guitars occasionally offering a nice taste of something catchy, but despite its high level of polish, there were very few moments at which my neck started to break, and when you've got a death metal record, you've either got to provide the eerie old school atmosphere or a truly mesmerizing vortex of guitar lines. I'm afraid this doesn't possess either before a few errant, classically-influenced phrases, and since there is so little meat on the bones to begin with, its not required listening.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/fleshgodapocalypse

Dråpsnatt - Hymner Till Undergången (2010)

I listen to so much metal music that I often find myself just behind on the curve for certain artists, as with Sweden's Dråpsnatt. I had only recently gotten around to coverage on their first album, the highly promising debut I Denna Skog from last year, when I discovered that the band had already produced the follow-up. In the case of Hymner Till Undergången, we are treated to much of the same wealth of sound that characterized the debut: melodic black metal with aggressive, Burzum-like vocals mixed with cleans or deeper growls, and a love for the atmosphere conjured by creepy synthesizer lines, soaring pianos and gleaming, riverside folk acoustics, all gathered into a charge back to the rustic historic aesthetics being provoked through the wishful, Swedish lyrics.

It took a few listens before this sophomore grew upon my psyche, and that's because it lacked the punishing opener of the first album, which immediately grabbed you by the fur-lined cloak and thrust you into the band's vision. Here, the album is inaugurated instead with "En Ensam Sol Gar Ner", a bouncing, atmospheric piece to which pianos address the volley of chords, erupting into a common Swedish melodic black line over a blast beat. At first, seemed a little questionable or less passionate than the debut, but once you get to the beautiful bridge and the track surges back towards the blasted rhythm, you really start to develop a fondness for it, and all ends well. "Arvssynd" goes straight for the throat as if it were some outtake from Transilvanian Hunger, but then slows to a Burzum/Hellhammer fusion point with some fine if subtle guitar licks, followed by a swell of synthesizer. Once more, the band succeeds in providing a tasteful bridge with some clean vocal samples, and once more it segues back into a desperate, blasted charge above with the keyboards continue to thrill, like flutes of war.

This is pretty much the process for the entire course of the record. Tracks will seem rather mundane upon arrival, but then slowly reel you back to everything you enjoyed about the debut. The band's namesake "Drapsnatt" is breathtaking, with lush sequences of woodland beauty peaking out through the keyboard orchestration and flowing, simple bass. "Somna In" is all tranquility captured in the somber, clean guitars and pianos; "Ve Er" offers the same up front, but them a gradually escalating tapestry of sadness through the warmth-leeching rasps and the rural overtures. "Tonerna de Klinga" seems somewhat more schizoid, haunting and murderous through the use of deep clean vox alongside the band's grim facade. The finale to the abum, "Gasten" is one of the best songs I've heard from this band yet, with a female Swedish spoken sample alongside its folksy psychedelia and subtle, glittering synth tones.

As of yet, there are simply no fixes necessary for this band's original formula, but they will not impress you unless you are willing to listen at their pace and let yourself fall into the compositions. Granted, the band uses a lot of similar tempos and pattern shifting throughout much of the material, especially how they break out for the keyboard/acoustic passages, but as a full-bodied, 50 minute listening experience this is fairly welcome, like the bleak cover image of the wood cabin and its pagan proprietor against a forest background with the hints of golden ray shining through the boughs. Fairly mandatory if you enjoyed I Denna Skog. It's just as good. Breathtaking for anyone else who gives it a chance.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/drapsnatt

Blood Revolt - Indoctrine (2010)

If any trio of individuals would be capable of carving a new path in a stagnant woodland of extreme metal tropes, it would have to be Axis of Advance/Revenge duo C. Ross and James Read, who partner here with A.A. Nemtheanga, the frontman of Ireland's most important black/folk metal act (Primordial). Blood Revolt is the name of this endeavor, and whilst it stitches itself together from a variety of genres, including death, grind, thrash and black metal, the use of the biting, wandering Nemtheanga vocals and almost Swedish ethic fuzz to the guitar tone create an atmosphere that quite simply has not been heard in any precise parallel. Add to this the cohesive lyrical narrative concept of a fanatic who, when pushed against the wall, will commit all, including his life to the recognition of his message, and the inevitable martyrdom, and you have an impressively realized debut.

Whether Nemtheanga wished for this to solely interpret the actions and lives of some of his own 'extremist' countrymen of the past, is really no matter, because the lyrics have a universal voice that one could apply nearly anywhere, to any political, religious or social catalyst armed and prepared to die for his/her cause. The lyrics are quite excellent, really, not that they use any complex imagery or narrative, but because of their blunt honesty and interpreting the mental state of a man about to kill for a cause, how he must prepare himself to transform his target to a faceless means to an end ("Salvation at the Barrel of a Gun"), or to become the trigger finger for some 'justified' cult ("God's Executioner, Praise Be") or simply exploding ("Year Zero") for his or her beliefs.

This is all delivered in blasted or grinding precision, with a thick and crunchy guitar tone and riffing style that often recalls Repulsion or the whole wave of retro Swedish death bands that take the fuzz to the umpteenth level. But though the metallic riffs form the core of the band's sound, it is Nemtheanga's range from his wavering, impassioned cleans to snarls and almost hardcore angst that truly brand it with the stamp of distinction. Another facet of the band is the use of keys or clean guitars for added atmosphere, as in "Bite the Hand, Purge the Flesh", which lurches through a number of dynamics and vocal stylistics, from blasting to a doomed stutter, or "My Name in Blood Across the Sky", which initially builds from a big wall of chords to a blitzing, howled frenzy and ultimately slows to an empty, graceful melodic doom. Other roiling masses of certainty include "The Martyrs Brigade" (great bridge segment) and "Dead City Stare".

Considering its rather unique framework, Indoctrine is actually not always firing at 100%. Though I love the great tones used, and the vocals which are simply not in the range of emotional possibility expressed by most other frontmen in the field, when it comes down to the individual riff component there is not a lot of thunder happening. They all crawl and charge efficiently below the vocals, and the band is wise to spice them up with slight, ringing clean guitars, leads or other environmental boosters, but the fact remains that without these other factors you'd have an average experience at best. Still, as a meeting of the minds between the poles of Primordial and Axis of Advance, Conqueror, Revenge and Kerasphorus, Blood Revolt are quite astute in proving to us that there are paths yet to be followed in our favorite medium. Just watch your step, because there are bound to be IEDs and landmines.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (to make me feel alive)

http://www.bloodrevolt.com/

Kreetur & Gravsahl - Between Torment and Depression DEMO (2010)

A split demo between Canadian Kreetur and German Gravsahl seems like a natural collaboration, as both bands skirt the edge of the truer black metal population to incorporate elements of electronica and ambient to their sounds, and both had previously issued only a demo. So, rather than ramble down the road of endless demos, why not attempt something unique for the next emission? Furthermore, the bands have this offered for free at their sites, so there is little excuse not to hunt this down if you've even a cursory interest in bands that seek to fuse the snarling, grim aesthetics of minimalist black metal with a bright, contemporary polish. It's, as usual, a wise choice on the part of both artists, and judging by the quality of the material here, which exceeds their previous work.

Each offers four new compositions, the first of which are claimed by Kreetur. "Rain of Torment" is an eerie, dirty synth strike to the accompaniment of rain samples and sparse percussion, almost a perfect little sequence for some obscure foreign horror film and it quickly builds an anticipation of moody, bleak psychedelia. "II Voyage Encore..." forms patterns of deep, morose synthesizer and programmed industrial drums, an eerie concoction topped by a glaze of simple chords and harsh vocals. "Tortured Mind" once again fashions a mystique for itself, over some buzzing drones and trippy synths that escalate beneath the vocal decay, and "Deliverance" swells with pure 80s brilliance, like some forgotten late night street fight sequence in a bad movie interrupted by Havohej or Abruptum. In all, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the moods this Canadian is capable of conjuring, it's something that you don't hear every day. The metal elements are downplayed and justly so, for they don't offer much in the way of interesting riffs, but they seem to work within the context.

On the other hand, Gravsahl's guitar riffing is huge and centric to the climax of decrepit vocals and spacey, atmospheric keyboards. There's a perfect, depressive backwash to the minimal production of this half of the split, a somber elegy which permeates the drained human emotions of the composition, and somehow escapes to festoon glory upon the sagging stars of this German's universe. "Of Apathy (Drones)" is lovely, while "Of Sociopathy (My Fault)" is a mind fucking trip of pulsing electronics that disappear into the terse beat and melodic guitars. This guy's vocals are just fucking sick, like a corpse-painted Martian lamenting the loss of his kind and the atmosphere of his world. "Of Depression (Cleansing Rain)" is like taking the Tangerine Dream score to some cult 80s film and dowsing it in black tongues of numbing ichor, while the closing "Departures" is simply a trailing, distant tone poem to the fade of passion, played on a single piano.

We often turn up our noses at 'bedroom' black metal acts, but I feel the tag certainly applies here, doubly so, because the productions are very lo-fi and possible for almost anyone with basic recording software, a synthesizer, guitar and microphone. However, this in no way should ever be depicted as a negative, because its really what the artist does with whatever he's given that counts, and Kreetur & Gravsahl both evoke and corrupt the light of hope through mocking, null sensations that feel as retro as they do a modern exhibition. 36 minutes of good music, for free, showcasing some promising if somewhat unrefined artists from two continents. I believe that if you've any inkling towards ambient black metal, and an open mind, you might wish to enter this domain.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/kreeturofficial
http://www.myspace.com/gravsahl

Inherit Disease - Visceral Transcendence (2010)

Something is seriously happening in California of late, because its quickly become the haven for a large number of technical, brutal death metal acts that are savvy to both the benefits of aesthetic packaging and songwriting that can string the listener along without loss of interest in what otherwise might be a dull, expended category. Inherit Disease are another band joining the ranks of Decrepit Birth, Severed Savior, The Faceless, Odious Mortem, Arkaik, and others as they chisel out a huge block of territory to explore, and if the gorgeous cover art to their sophomore Visceral Transcendence does not captivate your attention, then the band's mesh of methodical, percussive riffing occasionally infused with spry lead work and crazy bass lines are sure to draw you into their spell.

There are some who would immediately pigeonhole and dismiss Inherit Disease as another of those 'generic tech death' acts who automatically fail at cool as they do not produce a recording which sounds like Autopsy or Incantation circa 1992, just as there are some curmudgeons who resist the lure of the cell phone, the iPod, the escalator and the motor vehicle. Believe me, while this Californian act is not 100% unique and they don't deign to be, they write songs with such a bludgeoning force and under current of tightly wrought, pumping vitality that I found them not only engaging but actually pretty damn memorable. There is the occasional squeal of annoyance, and perhaps a riff here or there that doesn't enthrall, but in all its a well produced, tautly executed work of hostility. Their roots lie in the obvious influences of Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Gorguts and the like, but I must commend them for their excellent drumming, qualified chugging momentum and for never at any moment devolving into flatulent, noodling tech jocks.

In fact, the first few seconds of the opener "Vessel of Inhumanity" are about as wanky as this band gets, with a flight of wild guitar over some fabulous, plucky bass strokes. Its almost as if the band wanted to tease you into thinking they were something they aren't, and then a brief few measures later dump concrete on you from the back of a mixing truck. From this point on, it's fucking hammer time, as dynamic chugging onslaughts consistently thread you through a vortex of carnal clobbering that changes its pace as often as a cold, calculating food processing plant batters, stretches and seasons its constituent ingredients into a final, digestible product, and I mean nothing negative by such a comparison, because this is one factory of bone grinding you would do well to lay down your currency upon.

Appreciable excursions into butchery include "Hivemind", with its writhing old school death blasts that cede to machine-like artillery grooves while the bass flips and flabbergasts amidst the unrelenting, pulverized certainty. "Digital Rapture" creates a spastic, discordant turmoil through which the brick house muted mayhem contorts into conquest, and "Prolific Dominance" is dense and distressful as the cautionary, guttural vocals hem and haw with the constant shifting mosh. Note that Inherit Disease are not quite a 'slam' band. The grooves are many and they are very well plotted, but not the garden variety crap spewed by so many deathcore or lesser USDM acts. I also appreciate that this is a band concerned with technology and human futurism rather than a typical, gore-soaked slasher film tribute, as "Nanoscourge" and "Beyond the Tyranny of Entropy" scurry through tales of cataclysm, both synthetic and naturally occurring.

If you're in the mood to have barbed wire fed in one ear and out the other, all your mushy gray matter and rhythmic resistance delivered on the far end in a sick jubilee of brains and chain link, then Inherit Disease provide you with just the right, hostile incentive. Individually, the elements at play here do not promise innovation, but taken as a sum, crushing statement this is an enjoyable album which trumps their debut and catapults them into the ranks of promising West Coast tyranny that might rule our roost for a long time coming. Resist at your own peril, but not at mine.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.myspace.com/inheritdisease

Inquisition - Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult (1998)

Risks.

Considering the extremity of death and black metal, and their relative level of inaccessibility to the general public, one might assume that such bands were more fond of taking great risks with the delivery of their musical output. Yet, we find this happening too rarely. Most are simply content to process their magic in the footfalls of those to come before, perhaps edging them out in production or pace, but rarely in the magnitude of grotesquery their forebears summoned into existence upon the material realm with even less resources. We need to face facts, throwing on corpse paint and playing diabolic anthems to Satan is simply not enough in many cases. Such bands might still write a damn good album, punishing if derivative, but in the long run will they have the same impact as the originators?

Sometimes, though, an artist comes along that, through some method, manages a distinction upon the norm, and the (formerly) Colombian band Inquisition belongs to this rare species. Musically, they commit acts of ghastly, oppressive occult black/death metal, but where they stand out is in the use of garbled, amphibian vocal rituals in place of the expected black rasp used by so many others in the genre. Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult was the band's 1998 debut, recently reissued through Hell's Headbangers with some fresh artwork, and it still stands today as the band's most impressive output, with ripping old school black riffs and the echoing, signature vocals that will haunt you long despite any initial imperative to laugh out loud at them. Inquisition have over an hour here of meticulously grim, wicked evocations that are very likely the best of their kind to ever escape the band's home terrain.

Beyond the obvious use of the strange vocals, the band is also notable for their dynamic versatility. Obvious influences are culled from European acts like Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, Borknagar and Emperor, and maybe a little US cult metal like Acheron, but the way the Colombians write their material is an open process that achieves maximum impact upon the listener due to the relative ease of digestion. For example, "The Initiation" uses a simple, glimmering folk/black metal pattern of the riffing that recalls Borknagar, but its placed here in an entirely different, morbid occult context that one would never predict. "Summoned by Ancient Wizards Under a Black Moon" also feels like some glorious ode calling at you from North European wastelands of history, and yet its instead crushing you from the South American jungles and the imagination of the sick fuck Dagon, a trip of turbulent, memorable riffing.

"Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult" itself is more of a Bathory meets Gorgoroth or Mayhem piece, with rolling drums and listless, steady rhythmic patterns that also makes good use of movie samples. "Solitary Death in Nocturnal Woodlands" is abrasive but beautiful, with a more sparse, raw appeal to the guitar work than other tracks here, as they lurch through the 9+ minute somber nightscape of the titular environment. "Hail the Cult" also features some ringing, ritual guitars over the echoing vocals, and "Journey to Infernukeorreka" has some glorious vocal swells and charging, punk/black rhythms that rock the facial skin off to reveal the leering devil below. But "Those of the Night" might be the most charismatic piece here, with a fun pattern of alternating guitar rhythms that bounce perfectly below the decrepit vocals before a melodic, majestic sequence that will take you by surprise.

For Inquisition, the risk to branch out and try something different has truly paid off, as most of their studio output offers a moderate to swollen level of quality unheard amongst most of their peers. The vocals are not the only focal point here, but the ability to deliver decent riffing that betrays the pure, typical necrostyle you'd expect from the band, and the incorporation of samples that seem more a trope in death metal than black. Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult may still be the band's finest hour, since it has this deliciously aged atmosphere that the others do not match up to completely. Sure, the delivery of the band's sinister lyricism might seem deceptively silly at first, but it could not fit the backdrop any better, a twisted replica of hellish dementia, corridors beyond the wall of human restraint and morality.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (infinite spells of hate)

http://www.myspace.com/inquisitionusa

Hideous Deformity - Defoulment of Human Purity (2010)

Technical death metal is perhaps one of the most difficult forms of music to truly balance. If you lean too far in one direction, you'll end up with a labyrinth of self-indulgence and poor songwriting that does nothing except appeal to the instant gratification of sycophantic mush for brains who will have forgotten it by the following Tuesday. If you lean too far back, then you run the risk of alienating yourselves from the brutes that cough up their coin for these types of releases, who will cite you 'not brutal enough'. Hideous Deformity, one of Norway's newer death metal entries, is an interesting specimen, because they manage to sound technical and brutal simultaneously without incessant walls of sweeping garbage and parlor trickery that many other bands pushing the envelope use to not actually force any boundary whatsoever, but to show off their alpha male musicianship skills.

Defoulment of Human Purity is fast, really fucking fast, and it's undoubtedly going to appeal to a wide range of death metal fans, from those who appreciate the tactile, USDM element found in bands like Severed Savior, Suffocation (on speed), Deeds of Flesh, Sepsism and early Cryptopsy among a great number of others, combined with a little of the brute blasting force of Brazilian style jiu-jitsu death like Krisiun, Ancestral Malediction, and so forth. The riffs come very quickly in rapid transitions that jump around the fretboard, almost like a hyper brand of thrash with guttural vocals, but the band rarely if ever resorts to dull wailing or the pandering shred excess. The drumming is an inhuman storm provided by guest Darren Cesca, who has performed in a number of US bands including Arsis, Pillory, Goratory, Vile and so on; and the session bass is provided by Erlend Caspersen of Blood Red Throne, etc. These two complement the core of grunter Jørgen and guitarist Robin, and together the quartet trample the listener like a herd of rocket-fueled elephants.

Seriously, do not try headbanging to this, because your neck cannot keep pace and soon your skull will roll off your shoulders and your spirit may vacate your body. Just sit and marvel at the precision patterns of virulent death/thrashing, as if you were popping speed and acid together while you watched a snuff film starring nude trapeze artists. The actual riffing elements themselves are not wholly original, drawn from a large number of influences (including some I listed before), but there are simply so many of them, and so many that are decent quality, that you're going to enjoy yourself regardless. Personal picks include "Asphyxiated by Humanity", "Deviant Manifestation" and the ever-shifting, pulverizing of "Exhibitions of Obscurities". There is not a whole lot of atmosphere, and to an extent I wish there were, but Hideous Deformity are far more content beating you with brick after brick of 'catch me if you can', and to douse this in tons of reverb or synthesized backgrounds would probably defeat the purpose.

For what it's worth, the seven originals all deliver the goods, more or less, for the 24 minutes they last. Yes, most of the tracks range from the 3-4 minute mark, closer to the former and latter, and that's all one really requires to have his/her head twisted off by the band's explosive measures. But for a few extra points, they've included a cover of Cadaver's "Mr. Tumour's Misery" from their 1992 sophomore album ...In Pains, and it fits in rather well, though the riffs are obviously a little simpler than the originals due to their age. A nice tribute here, from a Norwegian death metal band TO a Norwegian death metal band, and rounds out the album at just under 30 minutes playtime.

Defoulment of Human Purity is definitely a good death metal effort, especially if you want something truly punishing without being wanky, but it does suffer in a few, minor areas. The vocals are bereft of much character, though not bad. This could be said of most bands in this genre playing at this level, but wouldn't it be sweet once in awhile for one of them to feature something more charismatic at the helm? Not just by tossing in some snarls, hell every death and grind band does that, but just delivering a more evil, memorable performance in the phrasing and tearing of the throat. Also, despite the tremendous amount of good riffs the band throws out, there are very few which stick to the point at which you want to immediately cycle back and replay them. Successful strings of staccato mute picking, bludgeoning banks of chords, and menacing scales abound, but very few patterns hit that next level of entertainment. In the end, Hideous Deformity have slung together a promising, pleasing debut with no shortage of brutality, cool cover art and a killer session rhythm section, but it's not exactly a day one, must-purchase effort when there are more musically memorable peers out on the same fringe of extremity.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/hideousdeformity

Evocation - Tales from the Tomb (2007)

Somewhere along the line, after the members matured and found they still shared the passion for Swedish death metal that they once excelled in for their 90s demos, Evocation got its shit together and decided that the time was right for another foray into not-fame and not-fortune that was the extreme music business. Perhaps the wave of nostalgia for the form that had been rearing itself in the 21st century had something to do with the decision, perhaps the band just took a listen to their early goddamn demos and recognized all the years they had thrown away, but it makes no difference. Their Evocation compilation had been released a few years before, and a 3-song demo of new material, and it was well beyond the hour to release the first, proper Evocation full-length: Tales from the Tomb.

Though it was 15 years since the band had dropped the original pair of demos in 1992, there is just not much that has changed here. It's still pure old school Swedish death from the pens of Dismember, Entombed, Grave, and Unleashed, with the thick and punishing guitar tone infused with big grooves, leaden dirt-nap melodies and the bruised, bloody throat of Thomas Josefsson, who sounds a little more caustic and snarling than a Lars-Goran Petrov. The album includes all three tracks from the 2006 demo, and a wealth more, including a rather obvious cover song. The cover and logo are excellent, which is not a surprise since the band tapped luminaries Kristian Wahlin and Dan Seagrave to create something just as memorable as many classic albums of the 90s. Whether Tales from the Tomb itself should be counted as a 'classic' of retrospective death metal is unclear. They weren't the first, but as they were formed in 1991 and already issuing good music a year after, do they really count as 'retro'? Perhaps only in the perspective of releasing actual albums so far beyond the fact.

But surely this is a damned good time if you've any love for the style at all. The swift decay of the "Eternal Lie" intro is breached by the forceful walls of melodic weaving that inaugurate "The Dead", a faster piece with a strong, haunting element to the bridge guitars and bass. "Chronic Hell" opens with an immediately catchy storm of melody at a mid pace, before the playful morbid saturation of the verse, and a similar accessibility can be found in the flesh carving "Breed", the creepy old school crushing ritual of "Blessed Upon the Altar", the dance party Entombed groove of "Phase of Fear" and the fairly catchy, uplifting melodic death metal insurgency of "From Menace to Mayhem". The band do re-create one of their early demo tracks, "Veils Were Blown", streamlining it with the remainder of the album, so you can clearly see how little they've changed outside of the production. "But Life Goes On" might seem like a redundant choice for a cover tune, since some would argue that Evocation is merely an Entombed cover band of sorts, but they handle it well and the raspier vocals seem like at least a small alteration.

It pains me to reiterate the point through so many critiques, but how you feel about Tales from the Tomb really depends on your level of hostility towards derivations on a theme. If you pine at the aural maw for further interpretations of records like Left Hand Path, Clandestine, You'll Never See... or Like an Everflowing Stream, and cannot get enough of this, then Evocation has your punchcard to paradise, and are quite good songwriters themselves to boot. There are no disillusions about the intention here, this is an attempt to rekindle the morbid atmospheres once produced in the genre from that particular geographic locality, and a successful one. It may not tear one's face off as wonderfully as (ex-Centinex) Demonical's debut Servants of the Unlight from the same year, but its a great back-up and quite consistent and entertaining throughout.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I too heard distant explosions)

http://www.evocation.se/

Evocation - Evocation (2004)

Contrary to what some might think, Evocation is actually not just another in an endless sequence of Swedish death metal throwbacks. The band was initially formed in 1991, and produced two excellent demo tapes in 1992, garnering much label interest before they imploded for personal reasons. Thus, the Evocation compilation released through the defunct Breath of Night records in 2004 is a treat, because for most of us, it's the first time we get to hear this material in a convenient form; and once you have, you will realize just how much damned potential was lost over the years, though thankfully having returned to us in the past decade.

It's no secret that Evocation have the 'Swedish' sound. You could compare them to Grave, Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed, four of the bands ultimately responsible for the tone and songwriting that would influence hundreds of imitators, still to this day. But Evocation had a leg up even on most of the underground competitors back in the 90s, because they wrote great, crushing tracks that were fairly easy to access for newcomers to extreme metal. The chunky guitar tones, dire and bludgeoning vocals from these demos were rendered wonderfully in the studio, and the material is comparable if not superior to many others in that 'second wave' of Swedish death.

The Ancient Gate demo opens with an acoustic passage "A Wind Has Risen" which is set against, you guessed it, the sample of air currents blowing, one of the most widely used aesthetics in all established metal intros. "Through the Darkened Peril" peril takes off with a slew of thick chords that immediately conjure the Left Hand Path atmosphere, if a little less caustic. The band shifts from a grooving rhythm to a faster forward thrust and then some very early Entombed-like, escalating leads before the breakdown. "The Ancient Gate" is packed with somber melodies and crushing, rock grooves which better reflect Clandestine or the later Wolverine Blues. A weighted bass line opts into the blasting, chugged force and melody of "Desolate Spirits" before tearing the listener's head off with a ripping thrash/death force in the verses. Overall, this demo is the far better sounding of the two, with a production that must have been the envy of most unsigned acts of the period.

The second demo included is the Promo 1992, which has a slightly less impressive studio sound. The quality of the songs is comparable, they just don't seem so professionally mixed. "On a Journey to Heaven" crashes and collapses upon a rippling stream of eerie melody, before the minute mark where the band goes all out to bludgeon the fuck out of you with intense force, after which they weave in a great melody line and a truly grisly old school break. "Where the Headstones Shine" rages into an acoustic segue, then lurches into a melodic death/doom section before a keyboard heralds a blasting to come. I felt like this song might have suffered from too many transitions for its own good, but the individual riffs were quite strong. "Veils Were Blown" is less centric towards its melodies, and more about the pure, thrusting death metal, and the closer "Spiritual Affinity" is the best song on the demo, with great drums and amazing, flesh shredding riffs that climax in excellent leads that rally together the sepulchral atmosphere.

As collections go, this is the sort that is hard to beat. You get two superb demos in one simple package, and a chance to explore the back history of one of the genre's best, most understated bands. The only real flaw with Evocation is that they're just not all that original, since several other Swedish bands had already penetrated the market and this one would merely have been sweeping up the debris. But if you're a diehard for this specific sound, they are easily one of the best at actually writing songs that will stick with you to give you a full blast of Left Hand Path or Clandestine worship that is good enough that you'd occasionally listen to it other than those huge, original statements. In fact, despite its age, the music here is as well composed as their two studio albums from the 21st century, with the exception of 1-2 tracks that could have been better organized.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.evocation.se/

Emerald - Down Town (a.k.a. Iron on Iron) (1985)

Many emerging metal artists in the 80s would take a page out of the Judas Priest handbook and attempt to run with it, outdoing the originals at their own game, and the short-lived Dutch band Emerald were certainly among them, especially within the vocal department. Bert Kivits was a shrieker, perhaps even more of a pure shrieker than Rob Halford, but the way he phrases the lyrics and hits key notes of elevation reminds me so much of the Priest frontman, only taken to a logical (and even silly) extreme. You can hear a little Riot too, maybe some non-Priest NWOBHM like Angel Witch, but it always comes back to the source.

This is most evident in the opening track to Emerald's sole full length output, Down Town (later titled Iron on Iron through the 1999 Iron Glory Records re-issue. "Johnny's On the Run" might as well be titled "Exciter's On the Run", because the pace, higher vocal swells and switch to the chorus subliminally conjure up that legendary number. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy it anyway, because you could probably write 100 or so worthwhile variants to the same thing and it'd still have my fist banging and neck in lockstep. Allard Ekkel's got a good, fun tone to his playing that feels rich beyond the decades, and though Kivits' vocals can somewhat test the nerves with all their nasal whining qualities, they at least fit the music. "Down Town" hits a little harder, with far better vocals that sound like Geddy Lee and Tony Moore (80s Riot) in a tongue wrestling match, while the riffs rollick and a dirty pace and tasty lead licks cycle on through.

"Angels of the Red Light", which I assume is a tribute to Emerald's sauciest national monument, features a pumping bass line and some thick, choppy guitars whilst Kivits shrieks about the pleasures of the flesh. "Suicide" represents a moody but forgettable ballad that's come a decade late, but the band storm off some Maiden-like trotting energy and sinister grooves in "D-Day" and melodic near-speed metal in "Hell Racer". "Witch" features a few of the catchiest guitar licks on the record, but you have to deal with a surplus of screaming that does not necessarily do the honest groove of the guitar much of a service. "Shadows of Almighty" and the album's second 'title track' "Iron on Iron" fetch us back to sanity, with Kivits restraining himself slightly, enabling them to get their points across without the listener laughing or shaking his head in shame.

The vocals for Down Town can certainly hinder one's appreciation for the music, but when they do knock it down a notch they mix in far more, and the album becomes very enjoyable. In fact, almost all the riffs are the sort that would appeal to a fan of NWOBHM bands like Samson, Angel Witch, Judas Priest and their ilk, and had this Dutch frontman practiced a little restraint, Emerald might have truly capitalized on the still-going movement. I really like the title track and a few others, but inevitably I too fell pray to the hurdle of Kivits' enthusiasm, breaking my knee in the process and having to quit the track team for the next few seasons. The band have reformed, so perhaps they can remedy my bruises yet.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/emeraldnl