SVARTTJERN: "Towards the Chaos"

Long gone are the days of golden Norwegian Black Metal, and if someone asks you that where does the best black metal of the 2000s stem from, I doubt your answer would be Norway – unless you revere the Fossbrenna scene that, admittedly, is of relatively high quality (Kaosritual, One Tail, One Head et cetera). As a generalization, it seems that the Norwegian black metal of today is populated by a heap of rather polished and generic outlets of the black arts, starting with such names as Koldbrann and Sarkom. It strongly seems as well that Svarttjern's upcoming second full-length Towards the Chaos belongs to this very same category of somewhat meaningless black metal.

It always hurts a little to say something is just meaningless as it's certain that e.g. in this case there's surely been lots of work in achieving what it is, but when we take an objective glance over this mass of incessant studio blast beats and seas of tremolo guitar, there's very little content that ever stands out – every nuance is played by the book, including the high-pitched rasps of the vocalist. The most proper comparison I can come up with is a less melodic and more fierce version of Keep of Kalessin, basically meaning a bunch of palm-muted riffage within the usual speed race.

Towards the Chaos isn't, however, a total lackluster all the way through: luckily there is ”Hellig Jord” that incorporates a really sweet lead melody that easily gets stuck to the head. There are bits and pieces of prominent material in other corners of the album as well, but I don't think they are that noteworthy in the long run, as for the most part the record stagnates in the mud of dullness.

In the end, what's left of Towards the Chaos is a little more than one track of good material, and the rather soulless clean sound doesn't at least raise the album's score. Instruments are also executed with hundred percent tightness and precision that adds up to the almost computerized feeling. Fans of more modern black metal and those new to the genre overall may find more to dig from Towards the Chaos, but for me the album sounds way too much of the same paradigm that we've already heard during the last decade.

2 / 5

MORDBRAND: "Necropsychotic"

September 2011 marks the release of at least two EPs in the vein of Swedish old school death metal through two relatively big underground labels, the first being the CD version of Cryptborn’s Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead via Dark Descent Records, and the other being Mordbrand’s Necropsychotic via Deathgasm. Unlike the former, Mordbrand actually hails from the land of this legendary sound, but it doesn’t show in the result: I’d say this loses by little to the recent Cryptborn attack.

Unlike many in this certain business, Mordbrand does not have a thick, buzzing guitar sound: this is a more regular, breathing death (and perhaps slightly black) metal tone. A good dose of solos are added on top of the crumbling riffs, backed by a lot of d-beats. Vocal delivery is in the very common style, meaning low-pitched growls, and tempo is kept at moderate levels. So now you know what the package of Necropsychotic offers, and if you’re not up for another ride in early 90s’ nostalgia, you should be reading a totally different review by now.

There’s a few spots in which the band does stand out a little, and it’s in the guitar work that every now and then features some distortionless, ominous pluckings, and the third track ”Skärseld (Return to the Unholy)” dares to flirt with melodic ideas quite unheard of in Swedish DM underground. ”The Wall of Flesh” and ”Deliverance” belong to this category as well, featuring a tad more melody than we are accustomed to hear.

In the end, I don’t however think these little variations make Necropsychotic an otherworldly record. Even if the songs tend to vary a bit more than, say, the ones on the recent Cryptborn, the atmosphere isn’t on the same level of filthiness. The production here sounds quite safe and warm (if so can be said of an underground death metal release...) that is pretty far from a reeking, putrid soundscape. A decent effort that unfortunately pales in comparison to many others in the field right now.

2.5 / 5

AVE MARIA: "Chapter I"

This summer, Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions unleashed two new black metal releases - one being Kraken Duumvirate’s second EP and the other being Ave Maria’s major debut Chapter I, a feast on familiar ideas initiated by various religious black metal groups of late years. Ave Maria does, however, implement enough of its own touch to the whole so that Chapter I remains enough interesting throughout.

First it must be stated that Chapter I is quite well produced (yet retaining an enough raw edge) and well played black metal. There are plenty of sections in which the guitars turn into distortionless plucking menace and there’s a lot of palm-muted and semi-technical riffage. ”The Trembling Eye” crawls forth slowly to end when the first notes of ”Coitus Behind Mortal Walls” hit, a definite standout track of the bunch. On this song, the band showcases its best melody ideas, so after the song ends, nothing comes again to the level of that piece. To depict the band’s overall sound further, you may think of a vaguely rocking/thrashing black metal outfit with strong connections to orthodox black metal - in other words, Chapter I is somewhat close to Watain, I dare to claim. It’s just the vocals that are generally lower pitched.

It’s evil and ass kicking, but I guess it's something in the partial compositional stagnancy that makes Chapter I not that overwhelming after all. There are bits and pieces that sound very good, e.g. I can’t find much to complain about the well flowing melodies of ”Among Them”, but no matter how many runs I give to the album, the whole never rises to proper greatness. There’s potential and I’m hoping the band dares to use it on later works - they don’t seem to be afraid of compromising ideas within the borders of underground black metal so hopefully there will be plenty of more ’experimentation’ some time in the future. Uncreation’s Dawn fans, you’ll probably get something out of this record - I find these bands somewhat similar in their guitar melodies and vocal growls. Plus points for the thoughful lyrics that are worth reading even on their own.

2.5 / 5

CRYPTBORN: "Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead"

Although Finland has its own history and touch in old school death metal, it seems to be the legendary Swedish scene that has influenced these Finns when they created their first offering, an EP named Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead, a 28-minute feast on graveyards and the stench of rotten flesh. Yes, Cryptborn offers here nothing but old school Swedish death metal. If by now you think you’ve had your share of this style already, do not read further, as there’s nothing whatsoever novel on Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead.

I, myself, am also growing a little tired of the constant stream of bands hailing this early 90s period in metal’s history, but fortunately I’ve had a little break now for, say, a month or two. So at least right now Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead kicks just enough ass to keep me focused throughout the seven tracks, starting with the introductory ”A Feast for the Grave” that, luckily, isn’t a lame synth piece but an actual piece of the very meat: thick, asphyxiating, down-tuned guitars, low growls from the depths of hell, and a somewhat slow tempo. And so the rampage begins and there’s no sign of compromises to be found anywhere - a vague moment of difference is when the accented, ominous church bells hit on the third, self-tield track.

On records like this, it is not uncommon to come across deliberate compositional stagnancy as the bands want to stay within certain borders, so the main focus, at least for me, goes on the atmosphere and production. And these two things are certainly top-notch here: the sound is fittingly ugly and filthy, a lot better than on many other contenders within this style, evoking a horrific atmosphere. Into the Grasp of the Starving Dead can not be recommended to anyone else than the worshippers of the certain old style (look out for the CD version via Dark Descent Records next month), as can be deduced from the above paragraphs already. In its narrow category, the EP is a success that also I like to listen to when the mood hits for the filthiest of death metal sounds.

3 / 5

PANTHEON OF BLOOD: "Pantheon of Blood"

Sûrya Ishtara and Z are certainly not running short of projects being involved in - right now the list seems to comprise such cult names as Saturnian Mist, Blood Red Fog, Arvet and even the legendary Azazel to name just a few. Under the name Pantheon of Blood and the self-titled cassette debut, these two brothers in spirit (plus Adar behind the kit and some additional synths by T. Laasanen) offer two brief tracks of occult black metal interestingly combining national-romanticism and occultism - very fittingly released by Breath of Pestilence and Saturnian Productions in cooperation.

Musically, Pantheon of Blood’s approach to black metal is dominated by a very traditional Finnish sound - I’m much reminded of, say, Blood Red Fog and Cosmic Church throughout this short tape, meaning that there’s a subtle melancholic undertone in the riffing all the way through, not to forget the sense of pride that has also a strong role when we consider the thematic whole. An exerpt from the translated lyrics might shed some light on the subject: ”I continue from the point where my brothers died / and there is always a new horde to carry on / If there is no reason to die / there is no reason to live”. Another example, and one of my favourite quotes, from the lyrics goes: ”Ravens rend our flesh / and instects ruin our rudiments / but the stones of the temple remain...”

I don’t think there’s any reason to delve too far into musical details of Pantheon of Blood, but let it be said that these two pieces are compositionally quite damn captivating tracks - ”Kolmas Silmä Maan Tuhkasta” (”Third Eye from the Ashes of Earth”) includes an ethereal climax in its end it the form of a plucked, distortionless section. ”Vanha Liitto” (”The Old Covenant”) follows in similar veins riff-wise and never runs out of ideas. The execution of instruments is fittingly rough and imprecise which is nothing but a big plus for the sake of the rather lo-fi soundscape that would definitely not need any professional musicianship. Add the very symbolic lyrics to this, and the whole is very intriguing indeed.

In the end, and all unnecessary hype aside, I don’t find Pantheon of Blood faulty from any perspective, unless the very short running time, around nine minutes, can be considered as one. I’m hoping this isn’t just a one time affair within a ’restricted’ theme of secrecy of blood, so that there would eventually be a full-length under this name. Pantheon of Blood doesn’t exactly offer anything revolutionary, but for a fanatic of this certain Finnish style - both musically and lyrically - this is sole gold. Keep this in mind when you view the score I’ve given this.

4.5 / 5

CORNIGR: "Relics of Inner War"

With the release of Cornigr’s debut Relics of Inner War, Saturnian Productions continues its path on unleashing quality Finnish black metal a record after record. Cornigr does not dwell in such cult popularity as some other bands in the label’s roster - Cosmic Church and Charnel Winds coming to mind first - but that is undoubtedly because of Cornigr’s lack of output: there is only one obscure demo dating back to 2003. So with the appearance of Relics of Inner War, here’s to hoping that the band reaches its potential listeners eventually.

The most suitable words to describe Relics of Inner War would be fiery and poisonous. First thing to spot right at the beginning is the cavernous overall sound: the music is hazy, drums being relatively distant (mostly cymbals rising to proper distinction from the mess of sound) on which guitars - the most important part of the album - reside, delivering riffs that at times are pure hellish war (like the almost Von esque simplicity on ”Baptism Below” that later turns into Burzumish high-end tremolo work like on ”Jesus' Tod”) and at times the soundscape is filled with twisted, discordant and oppressive chords (like on the haunting ”Jaws of Time” that also features a prominent bass guitar pattern). Usually it’s the mix of both, and herein lies the true beauty of Relics of Inner War: it is not afraid to retain to the uncompromising spirit of underground black metal but it still manages to sound enough original.

There’s a ton of strength in the execution of the instruments here, it’s powerful and harsh as hell all the way through, and this applies also to the masculine vocal delivery filled with anger and devotion, all audible in these mid-range growls proclaiming evocative and Satanic lyrics. If the majority of the label’s roster concentrates on a more sophisticated, philosophical approach at lyrics, Relics of Inner War is more pure fierceness. That doesn’t, though, mean that Cornigr’s writing is any worse at all, as it’s a pleasure to read the lyrics of e.g. ”Shroud of Satan” that reveres the principle of inner Satan (”undearneath the shroud, eyes inside out / the ghost, the reflection, the shadow self”), similarly continued on ”Brand Carrier’s Canticle” which is more like an ode for the potential of darkness within man and the abandonment of maya (”destroy the illusory chains!”).

Without further delving into lyrics solely, it must be said that followers of the Finnish ’scene’ should not miss Relics of Inner War, even if it isn’t hunder percent perfect: there are riffs that are evidently more generic than some others, hence not all the songs stand out during every second, and I’m not much digging the really minimal artwork, and the little of what there is it’s so dark that you can’t easily decipher it. The bare layout is most likely intentional, the frames of the cover evoking a feeling of an old occult book keeping secrets within, but I wouldn’t have minded to witness some more artwork inside the j-card. I could also complain about the soft polycase in which the album comes in, but these are, of course, just minor things and basically nothing when ears (and mind) are kept at the actual content that rules.

3.5 / 5

WRECK OF THE HESPERUS: "Light Rotting Out"

Who said artwork matters nothing in music? I’d say it’s an essential part of an album, so seeing such special packaging and artwork adorning Wreck of the Hesperus’ second album Light Rotting Out brings a smile on my face: an A5 sized cardboard outlook that has four individual cards inside carrying the lyrics and additional information. Talk about good first impressions.

The music itself - ugly and filthy funeral doom - leaves nobody cold either. Always slow and dragging, Wreck of the Hesperus still manages to keep the listener at his toes, never knowing what might appear from the rotting mud of Light Rotting Out. This album does not dwell in melancholy or anything along those lines, no, this is just creepy and disgusting menace. The starter ”Kill Monument”, clocking at eight minutes, is just a taste of what’s to come on the more intriguing ”Cess Pit People” that features some higher-pitched guitary melody-like therein, yet always sounding chaotic and, well, just ugly.  ”The Holy Rheum” lasts for over twenty minutes and is the highlight of the album, including an appearance of Albert Witchfinder on the latter half of the song or, in other words, part 2 of the song, ”Hologram Law”.

Vocals gnarl, bass guitar grunts, and the drummer, one of the best feature on the disc, rampages very impressively over his kit - he always seems to have something going on, like between the accented hits he batters the hell out of his toms. Also, the cellar-like production is spot on on an album of this kind. In the end, Light Rotting Out leaves a positive taste, but it also evokes a feeling of lacking, as the compositions aren’t that otherworldly in the end. It never sucks, but neither it is really memorable I’m afraid, even if the overall sound and atmosphere deserves full points. For an occasional dwelling in filthy funeral doom soundscapes, Light Rotting Out is an undisputed choice, but it doesn’t rise to the thrilling levels of excitement of, say, Stabat Mater debut from a couple of years back.

3.5 / 5

ISOLATION: "Closing a Circle"

Depressive black metal bands often follow the same pattern of evolution during their careers: from the initial hissing demo tapes of simply structured, repetitive black metal, the bands often end up exploring the territories of a tad lighter and less-metal approach - even if the aspect of depression is still carried on. One clear example could be Austere’s transformation into a more polished act with clean vocals until the band eventually perished and the similar style was continued on the Katatonia esque, rocking Grey Waters.

With their major debut Closing a Circle, Isolation has done the same. While this German band’s early career was laden with scruffy lo-fi black / doom metal with screeching vocals, and a constant undertone of melancholy, on Closing a Circle the band has made quite a change in approach in comparison to those days: only lightly distorted guitars, more rock oriented beats and languid clean vocals.

Luckily, this combination works for the most part. The starters - introductory ”Something and Nothing” and the follow-up ”Closing a Circle” - feature some very captivating melodies and riffs reeking of sadness, even though the lyrics have a more hopeful attitude that the music might suggest (e.g. ”closing another chapter / for the next one to begin” and ”but this is not the end, no”). ”Never Enough” includes some harsher vocals proclaiming the song’s title, but compositionally it’s nothing compared to next one ”This Moment” from which I can spot the latter era Katatonia influences more clearly. ”Nomad” is a lengthy instrumental fluctuating between the hopeful and wistful melodies to success.

The latter half of the album does not capture my interest as highly as the first side, but undoubtedly a song like ”One Day” is great, and ”Fan the Flames” interestingly flirts with old school doom / rock elements. ”There Will Be No Answer” is a brief interlude that seems a little filler-like, but is nonetheless a decent piece before the haunting doom of ”The Wasteland”. ”May You Fare Well” concludes the album with somewhat generic melodies, and perhaps I’d prefer the album to end with preceeding track.

Closing a Circle is most likely a love or hate case. It will be appreciated by those who accept evolution towards a more easier and so-called mainstream style, and disliked by those who’d prefer the band to retain to their underground roots. I find the new Isolation much enjoyable and most of the tracks are truly grabbing, plus the breathing production is golden for ears. I’m not sure how much longevity Closing a Circle has, but at least for now it’s a pleasure to put on the album and rejoice in the songs that tend to get stuck in head as well.

3.5 / 5

AMBER SOLSTICE: "Elixir of Passion"

Throughout my short yet quite prolific hobby at reviewing promos, I’ve managed pretty well to avoid getting into situations when I am supposed to review an album that I really don’t want to listen to at all. I don’t think I’m very narrow-minded or anything, but yes, there are still such genres out there to which I wouldn’t like to use any of my little free time.

Amber Solstice’s debut Elixir of Passion is, however, a change to the paradigm - now behold this novelty! Here this four-piece Russian group plays some sort of synth pop that occasionally meets with heavier distorted guitars and even some real drums at times. But for the most part, Elixir of Love is techno beats, futuristic sounds and rather embarrassing vocal delivery, both male and female. All in all, listening to the album is reminiscent of the feeling of listening to a nineties’ B grade pop record and being unable to understand how it could have been done seriously back then.

”In Passion” and ”Elixir of Love” don’t show the metal elements much except in some distant rhythm guitars in the background, but on the third track ”The Dreams” the guitars and drums kick in properly, and based on a song like that, I could perhaps recommend the album to fans Pain from Sweden. If I had to choose, this certain track would probably the album’s highlight. After that, Elixir of Love returns to the awkward pop melodies and sounds, though perhaps ”Wherever You Are” could still be mentioned as an okay piece that focuses more on atmosphere. A couple of remixes are added to the album’s end, and no further comments to those except that they’re the kind of pieces you hear can hear on dance floors of your closest night club, so...

Add the even more embarrassing love themed lyrics (written in a cheap font with the bold and italic effects at the booklet) to the music, not to forget the odd cover in which two robot-like human figures (?) kiss each other that kind of speaks for itself, and in result you get an album that, well, at least I can not stand. The potential fanbase resides somewhere entirely else than in yours truly’s ears. But I doubt that many readers of the blog would be interested in this album, anyway, so at this point I think I can safely conclude this review and get back putting Vetala’s new Live Evil tape as well as Cornigr’s Relics of Inner War to my beloved tape deck. And to make it hundred percent clear: there’s no offense meant towards anyone in this review, but I wholeheartedly think it’s just in totally wrong hands.

0.5 / 5

AURVANDIL: "Yearning"

The previous EP release Ferd still in quite fresh memory, Aurvandil is already back and now offering their debut full-length entitled Yearning. To my delight, the band seems to have fixed the glitches of the predecessor, Yearning being a really grabbing journey through wintery landscapes that no longer suffer from cheap productional values and unmemorable compositions.

It is pretty much the opposite here. Musically, Aurvandil is still winter-themed atmospheric black metal somewhere along the lines of Lunar Aurora, and this has been crafted to greatness in these long compositions often clocking even at nine minutes. In the reverby and warm production appear the remote drums (that are luckily real this time) and screams, guitars having the predominant role. And in the guitar department resides Yearning’s magic: the songs are full of grandiose lead melodies, often tremolo picked, reminding me of Agalloch. This beauty starts right into the first metal track ”End of an Age” that almost literally bathes in lush melodies in its conclusion. There’s also plenty of acoustic guitars everywhere, sometimes mixed with the black metal (e.g. ”Reign of Ice I”) or having hundred percent spotlight as on the interlude ”Walking”.

The mood of the album wanders somewhere in wistful greyness but it isn’t afraid to show signs of hope and light as well. These emotions are well mixed into the whole. While everything seems good on the record, it soon becomes evident that the only major problem on the album is its length - which is almost 65 minutes. Although the compositions are for the most part good, I’m sure there could have been some reductions to make a more compact whole, but then again, we’re talking about music focusing on atmosphere, so from that perspective it doesn’t matter if it’s a tad too long and if there’s a riff or two that don’t shine with brilliance. A hidden Burzum cover (”Jesus’ Tod”) appears at the album’s end, and although I see little meaning in covers in general, I think it’s enough well done, anyway.

Yearning leaves a lot more positive aftertaste than the mediocre Ferd. Here, Aurvandil sounds more confident and authentic even if the style isn’t revolutionary. Fans of nocturnal and wintery atmospheres (heck, just see that front cover) in their black metal should look into Yearning which stands as one of the most interesting releases in its category in recent times.

3.5 / 5

KRAKEN DUUMVIRATE: "The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge"

Some may be aware of my fondness towards native (Finnish) black metal, and it’s indeed no underestimation that I consider this country as one of the best places in the world when it comes to these black arts. Still, I’ve somehow missed the whole existence of Kraken Duumvirate - not that the band would have had long and famous history as their only other release dates back to just three years, but when we think of how high quality The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge at least is, it’s a shame I haven’t heard the band before.

Perhaps my unawareness of Kraken Duumvirate’s music derives from their rather experimental approach, compared to my usual taste of rather uncompromising, basic black metal. The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge comprises three tracks of which the bookends ”I Channel” and ”Sacrifice Me” are just brief, passing moments in the shadow of the true centerpiece monolith, self-titled as ”The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge”.

”I Channel” leads the listener through Xasthur esque ambience in which discordant guitar pluckings appear, and soon after the almost dramatic eponymoys monster kicks in. The ambience is, here as well, very detailed and full, and pretty much the whole point of the record, but there is the metal, too: an odd, convulsing and hypnotic plucking pattern is being repeated a lot with a simplistic, programmed drum beat pulsating in lush reverb, and in a rather slow tempo, perhaps nodding to funeral doom’s direction. Around nine minutes, it all dies to minimalistic ambient for a while until it’s time go again with different, though similar, guitar ideas. The vocals are always distant and often whispery, but even the screams seem remote and laden with a ton of mysteriousness. ”Sacrifice Me” continues in the same vein as its predecessor but with somewhat more grandiose lead melody work.

A careful look into the lyrical side of the EP reveals intricate writing skills on topic of, I suppose, universal creation through destruction: the rise of a higher level of existence from the ashes of the inferior material plane. All occultists, take note of the interesting inclusion of Neptune’s principle here. But I am not going to dwell any further into this subject: the lyrics are still in the process of opening for me.

While the actual metal content on The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge might not blow anyone’s mind (although it’s still tastefully done, trance-inducing menace), it’s the fusion of brilliant atmosphere and lyrical splendour that makes the EP a definite worthwile effort. I am not sure how much someone can get out of this if his/her interest resides solely in metal instrumentation and proper song structures, but at least for yours truly, The Astroglyphs of the Ritual of Deluge is a very welcome discovery amongst all the masses of nonsense music.

4 / 5

THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME: "The Royal Arch Blaspheme"

Not that long ago I introduced myself to a certain big USBM project, Profanatica, whose string player John Gelso has now teamed up with no-one else than Imperial of e.g. Krieg fame. The latter person’s work in the realm of black metal I’m a little more familiar with, so seeing these two guys together releasing an album full of filthy black metal is indeed intriguinig.

The Royal Arch Blaspheme is the name of this entity that ravages on ten tracks of primitive death / black metal on their self-titled debut. Tempo kept usually at relatively moderate levels, this filthiness crawls forth not by any fast speeds but by the utter menace of the evil reeking tremolo riffs - a fine example of the relative slowness would be the album ender ”Kingdom of Perversions” that would fit well under the tag doom metal. But for the most part, The Royal Arch Blaspheme comprises quite a static blast beat throughout many songs on which the riffs appear. The guitar ideas here don’t flourish in diversity but who would have expected that anyways? Just expect a big load of Beherit influenced old school worshipping, overall.

While Profanatica’s Disgusting Blasphemies Against God had one certain feature that made it stand above the masses of similar albums (the cavernous, bass-full production), I find that The Royal Arch Blaspheme is lacking that specific feature that would make it truly memorable. Sure, Imperial’s convincing growls and shrieks are a pleasure to hear and the overall atmosphere is pretty well crafted darkness, but on this album the production seems rather to be a minus: the programmed drums are clear to a slightly annoying extent and also otherwise the whole sound seems to in need of heaviness. That said, The Royal Arch Blaspheme does not reach as far as many others in the field, but is certainly a worthwile effort to look into if this definite cult style of black metal appeals to you.

2.5 / 5

DENOUNCEMENT PYRE: "World Cremation"

Albeit Denouncement Pyre’s major debut World Cremation, finally released after a slew of demos and EPs, does not revel in any novel ideas at all, it is funny how some albums still click with rightness. This album seems to do it somehow in spite of its very standard mixture of black, death and a hint of thrash - and mostly old school, of course.

I wouldn’t, however, go as far as saying there’s absolutely nothing innovative here. True, these blastings and evil tremolo riffs sound familiar to anyone who’s even slightly aware of the style, but careful attention to details reveals some genious reworkings of ideas used on various other records in the past, such as the sudden clean yet mysterious chords on ”Purification” and the nicely done Beherit and Archgoat worship on the following track ”Coven of Diabolical Prophecies” (one of the album’s highlights) - or just the sheer ferocity of certain sections on ”Black Womb of Magdalene”. Not to forget the bookend, 7-minute ”Invination of Poison” that features the most original ideas of the bunch with its interesting, semi-melodic guitar lines and almost grooving drums.

Production-wise, World Cremation lacks almost all bass (well okay, it is there but not that much audible), so that the album is a real feast on high-end, sharp and piercing guitars. The tightness and near-absence of bass might be the reason why this album doesn’t garner as much attention as names like Profanatica and Nocturnal Blood receive with their cavernous and morbid sounds that are easy to rejoice in. My only advice to those who are reluctant to give this album a proper go because of the not-that-heavy sound is to try to realize the sheer kick ass quality of these compositions that don’t need the facades of reverb and bass.

My first spin of World Cremation was when the album was in its release stages and it was freely streamable via some website. I remember liking it but somehow pretty much forgot it until I now got it in my hands for review purposes, and luckily I did as it turned out to grow much more after a few additional runs. World Cremation isn’t, of course, anything revolutionary by any means, and some songs clearly pale in comparison to some others, but heck how I do enjoy this blackened death menace all the way through. Do yourself a favor and check it out too if it happens to hit the right spots in you as well.

3.5 / 5