Deception - Daenacteh (Mighty Music) [Mark Young]
And now, moving on from total brutality to Norwegian melodic death metal. Daenacteh is the 4th album from Deception and at its heart is the tale of a brutalitarian state and a young girl tying to care for her family during a time of national emergency.
And it starts as it means to go on, as Sulphur Clouds comes in announcing a heady mix of the technical and the melodic. It has one of those ascending movements that really hits. Synths sit front and centre with riffs, all while Einar Hassenlberg Petersen lays down a beat pattern that keeps it moving forward, implying speed even when the BPMs reduce. It’s a belting start that runs into King Of Salvation, keeping the motifs established in place whilst amping up the speed.
Early on, you get the sense that their appreciation of arrangements is to keep everything balanced; synths fill the sound when the guitar backs off and vice-versa. When they come together on here, it’s a fantastic combination especially building in the middle eastern theme and it just rips. No fat at all on these two and it’s the sort of high-tempo melodic metal that I love. Iblis’ Mistress slows down (only a little) to lay the groundwork for a frenetic closing sequence, the melodic touches continuing through without losing sight of the need for riffs. Its powerful stuff and cements the sterling work of Sindre Wathne Johnsen for the orchestration on display here.
Assailants, with its bending note intro and choir like backing changes things again, leading into a stormer that blasts forward, each of the band playing here for the song picking up the load when required by the arrangement. And again, it doesn’t forget to be heavy which is why we are all here. Monophobic motors with a superb technical attack and it becoming difficult to find new ways to describe how well I am enjoying this. Synths can be unfairly maligned in extreme music, but here it is serving a purpose to really give the song some extra heft. Bonus points for the widdly solo break because these songs have been crying out for some of that!!
Assailants, with its bending note intro and choir like backing changes things again, leading into a stormer that blasts forward, each of the band playing here for the song picking up the load when required by the arrangement. And again, it doesn’t forget to be heavy which is why we are all here. Monophobic motors with a superb technical attack and it becoming difficult to find new ways to describe how well I am enjoying this. Synths can be unfairly maligned in extreme music, but here it is serving a purpose to really give the song some extra heft. Bonus points for the widdly solo break because these songs have been crying out for some of that!!
Dhariyan deploys a similar bending note line to Assailants, but they soon move beyond that, bringing in more of that middle east vibe in much the same way that Led Zepplin did with Kashmir. To some that might sound like a stretch but give it a listen you will get me straight away. As before, everything is pitched so well; the backing guitar lines that come and go, the orchestral flourishes and then a solo, which they manage to make fit so that none sounds out of place. There are definite nods to classic Sci-fi soundtracks, not direct homage if you will, but fans of that genre will hear them and appreciate them like I did.
Be Headed On Your Way and Daughters Of The Desert close us out, the former going for straight ahead technical brutality, mixing it up in a way that would cause serious injury in the pit. The relatively short length is welcome as it makes room for the latter’s 10-minute runtime. And the solo break is mental. Speaking of the latter, its build is centred around evoking images of the desert whilst taking the listener on a journey to a far-off land at times of great trouble. This is some song, opting for those sweeping musical moments to keep you engaged and it is a sign of total confidence to end on a song of this length, to put it all into one place. It bloody works too, bringing those chordal movements from earlier and building them with the synths, fantastic end to a storming album. Mustn't forget the solo, they drop that near the end and it is blinding (Hats off to of Sindre Wathne Johnsen and Hans Jakob Bjørheim here).
One of the great things here is Sindre Wathne Johnsen, the vocals range from the deep and guttural to the ether shattering shriek, pitched to suit the music around him. There is a command of the melodic here that is really strong without affecting how heavy they are. They have approached these songs in a way to make them the best that they can. It shines through each one as each share a common DNA with the others before and after without being a rehash of the same idea. Attacks vary, and speeds change. It sounds so vibrant and it deserves your love. 9/10
Be Headed On Your Way and Daughters Of The Desert close us out, the former going for straight ahead technical brutality, mixing it up in a way that would cause serious injury in the pit. The relatively short length is welcome as it makes room for the latter’s 10-minute runtime. And the solo break is mental. Speaking of the latter, its build is centred around evoking images of the desert whilst taking the listener on a journey to a far-off land at times of great trouble. This is some song, opting for those sweeping musical moments to keep you engaged and it is a sign of total confidence to end on a song of this length, to put it all into one place. It bloody works too, bringing those chordal movements from earlier and building them with the synths, fantastic end to a storming album. Mustn't forget the solo, they drop that near the end and it is blinding (Hats off to of Sindre Wathne Johnsen and Hans Jakob Bjørheim here).
One of the great things here is Sindre Wathne Johnsen, the vocals range from the deep and guttural to the ether shattering shriek, pitched to suit the music around him. There is a command of the melodic here that is really strong without affecting how heavy they are. They have approached these songs in a way to make them the best that they can. It shines through each one as each share a common DNA with the others before and after without being a rehash of the same idea. Attacks vary, and speeds change. It sounds so vibrant and it deserves your love. 9/10
Devastatiön – Rise Of The Dead (Empire Records) [Paul Hutchings]
Using one of the most common names in heavy metal doesn’t seem to have stopped Belgian black thrashers Devastation from producing another visceral slab of ferocity. Rise Of The Dead is 41 minutes of explosive thrash with that dirty blackened edge that has seen bands like Midnight, Devastator and Hellripper carve a true niche in the metal scene over the past decade. Drawing deep from those early days of Venom and Slayer, it’s a style that appeals to many, with powerful drums, gnarly riffs and strangulated vocals all combining in a fireball of chaos.
It's been a whilst since the band released anything of note, their 2023 single Wild Hunt the teaser for Rise Of The Dead. Before that you must look back to 2017 for the Drink With The Devil EP and before that, 2015 for the sophomore Pussy Juice Blues. I’m not familiar with the former works, something that I may well address soon, but Rise Of The Dead is everything you want in this style of metal. It’s fast, aggressive, well played, and comes with a hideously dark edge. The album rarely pauses for breath, driving riffs propelling it forward at breakneck speed.
Its frantic aural assault is a little one dimensional, with the songs merging into each other somewhat, but that isn’t a problem, for this is intended to be one savage blow to the back of the skull. Plenty of black in this release, with Black Abyss setting out the band’s stall early. A blistering onslaught that is maintained for the duration. If anything, the album gets faster, with the explosive Black Winter Night and Cathedral Of Lost Souls particularly fiery, although the latter does have a nice thrash chug mid-section.
Basically, this is an album that will split heads, ensure swirling mosh pits, and ensure any neighbours who hear it will not speak to you again. It’s almost a cure against the mundane. A savage battery that is unrelenting, this is a fine addition to the swelling discography of the blackened thrash scene. 8/10
Civerous - Maze Envy (20 Buck Spin) [James Jackson]
Two minutes of Horror Movie score straight from the vaults of Black & White classics open this Death/Doom album from LA’s Civerous, the accompanying artwork and logo design all point in the Death Metal direction and given recent releases I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, I’m a little hesitant.
Shrouded In Crystals opens in true doom fashion, chords ring out over crashing cymbals and a sense of the oncoming aural onslaught is felt working the lead guitar work, the song builds, then builds again before that tempo drops.
It’s the contrast between the two genres that emphasises the ferocity of one and the funereal nature of the other. An instrumental track, Endless Symmetry leads into Labyrinth Charm, which makes its stand firmly within the death metal genre, no room for the slower rhythmic beats until the final restrains of the song. Levitation Tomb follows a similar template to that of Shrouded In Crystals, that melodic arrangement to begin with before building the tempo, where this differs is that there’s a piano like lead that tethers that ferocity. The final two tracks, Maze Envy and Geryon respectively, further showcase this blend of brutality and sombre melody’s.
Whilst I have my issues with some aspects of this album, the No Clean Vocals approach and the rather “fuzzy” sound production adding to my own personal preferences, it genuinely wasn’t too painful an experience. 5/10
Altar Of Betelgeuze - Echoes (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
Altar Of Betelgeuze are a trio from Finland that play heavy doom with growl from the depths of Hell vocals. Echoes is their fourth release and continues in their somewhat sparse death doom styles with varying results. I say varying because the vocals are a real struggle for me. Musically the band is tight, but many with struggle with the death growls.
Take the song A Reflection for example. Musically this is some strong doom, and when there is some semblance of clean singing (relatively speaking) I can really dig what these guys are dishing out. I am really struggling with the death vocals though, to the point I really don’t want to listen, and I am usually OK with the growls from the underneath. Salvation is another track that chugs along nicely musically and the clean vocal parts here make this the best song on the record.
The first three tracks however are a real struggle. The band doesn’t do anything musically so special that I can overlook how much the vocals bug me, but give me a full album of songs like Salvation, that goes a sludgy kind of way, and I would be in all day. The title track, however, really did me in. Ten minutes of death doom that never seemed to go anywhere or end. Musically the closer, Fading Light, is good stuff, but you know where I am going with the ”but”.
Maybe I should check first on clean versus not so clean vocals before I pick my albums to review, because maybe I am missing something of the genus of Altar Of Betelgeuze and their new one Echoes, but for me, I can only deal with it for so long before I need to hear something to get my ears out of the depths of Hell. 5/10
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