Perhaps some could argue that the likes of Angelcorpse popularized the notion of a ‘modern death/black metal’ hybrid, that is to say a mixture of the technical and musical dynamics of classic American death metal, with an underscore of malevolence that whilst not too obvious suggests black metal influences too.
With ‘Graves Of The Archangels’, Athenian horde Dead Congregation put forth a powerful full length that acts as a clarion call for the steady rise in qualitative artistic output we are seeing by practitioners of this musical genre. In terms of execution we have here a work that in it’s proficiency and riff sequences gives us a reminder of where Morbid Angel were in the late 1980′s and early 1990′s, whilst the bleak necrotic vibe of Incantation’s best work also permeates the album. Those familiar with earlier, pre-album works by Rotting Christ and Varathron, fellow countrymen of this band will perhaps note a distinct similarity to have been thrown into the cauldron. Whilst these comparisons, which to the reviewer were comparable on first listen fit a time frame that is of the same era, almost 20 years ago, more recent takes on death and black metal leave a distinct mark on this work, most notably acts such as Averse Sefira and the previously mentioned Angelcorpse taint the guitar harmonies, and the sharp yet simultaneously murky production. The later part of this recently passed decade marked a sharp turn in the amount of quality death metal being released worldwide, and alongside the likes of recent works from Cruciamentum, Grave Miasma, Sanguis Imperem, The Chasm, Averse Sefira, Asphyx, Goreaphobia and a plethora of other artists, ‘Graves Of The Archangels’ deserves a rightful place in that pantheon.
Golem – Eternity: The Weeping Horizons
This album has developed a small following over the years but from the ridiculous cover artwork to the irrelevant intro and outro from ‘Le Sacre Du Printemps‘, it’s difficult to understand why. The actual music is no greater indicator, although there are flashes of potential in the songwriting, which echoes more of the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok than it does Stravinsky. From pulsing but uniform rhythmic basis emerges melodies of varying complexities like Ceremony’s ‘Tyranny From Above‘, although it’s being punched out by the same AI that must have been responsible for the computerised approximation of Death Metal called ‘Dreams of the Carrion Kind‘ by Disincarnate. As with James Murphy‘s band, Golem have a generic sense of logic behind each riff progression, where the contextual dynamics of mood and tempo totally nullify the sense that there’s any idea behind the compositions, at least any worth listening out for. Add to this sterile formulation some really uninspiring rhythmic filler and you have a largely disappointing album.
Profanity – Slaughtering Thoughts
If you’re one of those deranged masochists who listens to Death Metal for the audial desecration of the senses that it can inflict, no matter how much you end up panicking to turn down the volume before your brain finally explodes, then Profanity might be one of the more tastefully executed methods of phrenocide. ‘Slaughtering Thoughts’ follows from the structuralism and down-tuned aesthetic of Morpheus Descends ‘Ritual of Infinity‘, but add to this the intensity of percussion and spiralling riff-work of Sinister and you have an album that steps out of the adipocere of decomposition and into the chaos of a sonic vortex. Like trapping a tornado inside a test-tube, this album captures the tumult of the mind in a world of illusions, based on the fragmentary nature of perception, creating a whirlpool of thoughts that veil the impersonal reality beyond. Sporadic outbursts of unexplainable lead guitars heighten the mental frustration, but with a kind of resolute beauty in trying to break free, creating patterns that would resemble the cracked and bleeding glass of its experimental, symbolic container, before being swept up in the almost ambient madness. All this brutality and not much groove nor a single breakdown in sight, this is the right music to attack your brain with and tear down all its worthless, mortal thoughts.
Filed under: Death Metal Music Reviews — Tags: Brutal Death Metal, Death Metal, German Death Metal, Modernism — ObscuraHessian @ April 8, 2010 13:52 — Comments (0)