Tag: Metal

My Top Albums of 2022

On By UncannyDerekIn Music, Top AlbumsLeave a comment

And starting off at number fifteen. . .

15. Gevurah – Gehinnom (Canada – Profound Lore)

The second album from Gevurah features their great song writing technique with their ever-so-punishing black metal. With incredible blast beats and thrashing riffs, the Gehinnom feels in your face for a full 46 minutes with tasteful acoustic interludes in-between the destruction.

https://gevurah.bandcamp.com/album/gehinnom

14. ARÐ – Take Up My Bones (England – Prophecy Recordings)

In a complete 180 from the album listed above, ARÐ’s Take Up My Bones is epic doom metal at its best. With a slow, dramatic pace and hauntingly beautiful vocal layers, the album at times feels more like an extended mournful prayer. It’s incredible how it works – and an incredible performance by artist Mark Deeks.

https://ardnorthumbria.bandcamp.com/album/take-up-my-bones

13. Night Hag – Phantasmal Scourge (United States – Rotted Life Records)

The death and doom of Night Hag’s Phantasmal Scourge is filthy AF. Heavy on the reverb and heavy in the riffs, Night Hag’s debut album does not disappoint. The album terrifies: with incredible vocal variations and frightening atmosphere, the nine tracks keep the listener engaged for the horrifying journey.

https://rottedlife.bandcamp.com/album/phantasmal-scourge

12. Escuela Grind – Memory Theater (united States – MNRK Heavy)

The grind/hardcore and metallic stylings of Escuela Grind are just fantastic. With exploding riffs, blast beats, and growls and screams from lead vocalist Katerina Economou, Memory Theater is just powerful. And what’s even better? The power has groove. The creative songwriting on this album simply is top-notch.

https://escuelagrind.bandcamp.com/album/memory-theater

11. Olhava – Reborn (Russia – Independent)

Back again on my list for another year, Olhava’s Reborn is breathtaking. Still at the top of their game with the bitter atmosphere they evoke, the near-hour-and-twenty-minute album is enchanting and riddled with mood. While at a glance one may feel the album should be shorter – if you’re in the mood for it – you’ll only end up wanting more by the end.

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/reborn

10. Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones (Italy – Profound Lore)

Cosmic is definitely one way to describe the album; Crepuscular Dirge for the Blessed Ones it’s a wild death metal journey that features some out-of-the-box thinking which makes moments of the album border along avant-garde. Solo artist Gabriele Gramaglia absolutely crushes it. With great power comes great intensity: and this album has both.

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/crepuscular-dirge-for-the-blessed-ones

9. Artificial Brain – Artificial Brain (United States – Profound Lore)

I don’t think Artificial Brian can come out with an album I’ll dislike. They’re three for three now in making my Top 15 list – and I listen to a lot in any given year. The science-fiction melded tech-death stylings seems to be a sweet-spot for me. Of course it helps when Luc Lemay (Gorguts) makes a guest appearance and Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts, and a ton of others) mixes the album. Just a brilliant piece of art.

https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/artificial-brain

8. Blind Guardian – The God Machine (Germany – Nuclear Blast)

What a return to form! After years of rather ho-hum albums, Blind Guardian comes back with The God Machine. Bringing back some thrash to their power metal, The God Machine feels like a meld between A Night at the Opera and Somewhere Far Beyond. After thirty years, Blind Guardian still has some major staying power and I’m very happy with this album.

https://blindguardian.bandcamp.com/album/the-god-machine

7. Mosaic – Heimatspuk (Germany – Eisenwald)

Always on the hunt for something different, Mosaic’s Heimatspuk nails it. Into the third album, solo artist Valkenstijn showcases incredible songwriting ability with encapsulating acting and drama. Each song feels independent yet cohesive – all sharing an audible theme of despair which runs throughout the album.

https://mosaic777.bandcamp.com/album/heimatspuk

6. Voivod – Synchro Anarchy (Canada – Century Media)

The progressive thrashers are back with what may be their most “accessible” album to date. Syncho Anarchy’s nine songs are full of punch and energy. You can also feel the band having fun while performing the songs in the studio. There’s a certain excitement that comes with each song that makes Synchro Anarchy one of the best Voivod albums in quite some time.

https://www.voivod.com/

5. Grima – Frostbitten (Russia – Naturmacht Productions)

Like Olhava, Grima makes it back on my list for two years in a row. (What is it with these Russian black metal bands?) Like previous albums, the scope of Grima is based in nature and an epic feel. With mid-paced black metal, the songs get time to breathe and let the listen really become engrossed in the catchy melodies. If anything, Frostbitten comes across as one of the most positive-feeling albums in Grima’s catalogue.

https://grima.bandcamp.com/album/frostbitten

4. Sigh – Shiki (Japan – Peaceville Records)

When a new Sigh comes out, everyone should listen. Constantly breaking the rules of production and how songs can and should be written, the newest Sigh does not disappoint. Always with incredible musicianship, the dynamics on the album are what really stand out. Guitar solos, rototoms, synthesizers, and more, all take center stage in various moments within the album. There’s something very different with Shiki and it’s an honest joy to listen to again and again.

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/shiki

3. Véhémence – Ordalies (France – Antiq Records)

Ripping, epic medieval black/folk metal from France. Ordalies comes in with fresh production and ideas, offering traditional instruments like bagpipes, flutes, and lutes, to make already memorable songs stand out further. The guitar riffs are just incredible though. Crisp and fast, Ordalies is the stand-out black metal album for me this year.

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/shiki

2. Morrow – The Quiet Earth (England – Alerta Antifascista Records)

Absolutely breathtaking crust punk. Within the first few moments of the album, I knew I was in for a ride. With acoustic guitars and percussion being the main driving force of the music, the many vocal styles of Morrow are what really pack a punch. The songs build and fall, creating dramatic escapes and dynamic, engrossing moments that really make The Quiet Earth stand out as an awesome force.

https://morrowpunx.bandcamp.com/album/the-quiet-earth

1. Wormrot – Hiss (Singapore – Earache Records)

I couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’ve listened to Hiss. While the band is grindcore at heart, Hiss is just so much more than that.

With every song having a story, each song brings something different and inspired. From the anthem-like chants in “When Talking Fails, It’s Time For Violence” or the wailing screams to guttural vocal shifts in “The Darkest Burden,” singer Arif comes across like ten vocalists as one. Guitarist Rasyid offers a flurry of range, with bright, aggressive guitars in “Your Dystopian Hell” to the down-right thrash-grind riffs in “Spiral Eyes.” Then there’s songs like “Behind Closed Doors” where drummer Vijesh features both punk rock drum beats and blast beats. But then in “Sea of Disease,” the toms shine with a mid-paced gallop – progressive variations which are not usually found in the genre.

There’s so much variety from the trio of musicians, Hiss is constantly reeling the listener in.

In fact, many of the songs simply transcend one another while holding together a cohesive feel. By the twelfth track “Grieve,” violins enter the album in a dissonant, sinister way. They reappear in a handful of songs afterward. By the final song, “Glass Shards,” the trio come together and make an emotional plea to the listener. And then comes that emotional violin solo, concluding the album and giving me goosebumps and concluding the aggressive drama.

While Arif unfortunately left Wormrot after Hiss’ release, I cannot think of a better high-note to leave on for any artist.

Upon first listen, I knew Hiss would be my Album of the Year: nothing comes close to the ferocity, excitement, progressiveness, brilliance, and emotions that this album evokes from me. Hands-down one of, if not, the best grindcore album I’ve ever listened to.

https://wormrot.bandcamp.com/album/hiss

Honourable Mentions:

Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark

The Chasm – The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow

The Gathering – Beautiful Distortion

Satan – Earth Infernal

Tomb Mold – Aperture of Body EP

Deströyer 666 – Never Surrender

Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation

Alanis Morissette – The Storm Before the Calm

Grand Belial’s Key – Kohanic Charmers

Most Disappointed:

Evergrey – A Heartless Portrait

Meshuggah – Immutable

Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying… And the Dead!

Abbath – Dread Reaver





My Top Albums of 2021

On By UncannyDerekIn Comic BloggingLeave a comment

And starting off at number fifteen. . .

15. Pan-Amerikan Native Front – Little Turtle’s War (United States – Independent)

Black metal with a dash of awe. Pan-Amerikan Native Front’s second full-length is intense with power and rage. It’s lo-fi production adds to the chaos. My favourite track, The Great White Beaver Lurks, is an awesome mid-paced song among the disruption.

https://pan-amerikannativefront.bandcamp.com/album/little-turtles-war

14. Friisk – ..un torügg bleev blot Sand (Germany – Vendetta)

Unlike Pan-Amerikan, Friisk bestows intense moods and atmosphere with their debut album. Similar at times to one of my favourite Icelandic black metal bands, Auðn, Friisk brilliantly showcases some blistering speed alongside their dramatic performances.

https://friisk.bandcamp.com/album/un-tor-gg-bleev-blot-sand

13. Fluisteraars – Gegrepen Door de Geest der Zielsontluiking (Netherlands – Eisenwald)

It’s rare to see 20+ minute black metal songs, yet Fluisteraars pieces one together and it goes by in an instant. Almost avant-garde at times, Fluisteraars’s fourth album is ambitious and rich with nuance – all-the-while still showcasing moments of insanity.

https://fluisteraars.bandcamp.com/

12. Drawn and Quartered – Congregation Pestilence (United States – Krucyator Productions)

A group of death metal veterans, Drawn and Quartered’s newest release features the band’s technical ability to write strong, creative music. With a solid old-school death metal sound, Congregation Pestilence is rich with pacing and riffs to make your ears bleed. Without going into the typical verse/chorus structure, D&Q’s music is filled with brilliance.

https://krucyator.bandcamp.com/album/congregation-pestilence

11. WODE – Burn In Many Mirrors (United Kingdom – 20 Buck Spin)

A mix of blackened/death thrash metal makes WODE’s third album an extreme journey to experience. Unrelenting and surprisingly melodic, the album comes with a great energy to it. With unexpectedly catchy riffs and crisp production, WODE’s ever-changing style serves them well.

https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/burn-in-many-mirrors

10. Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined (United States – Metal Blade)

Another group of veterans in the death metal world, Cannibal Corpse’s newest may be one of their best since Kill (although I prefer Torture). While still keeping up the same sound listeners have become accustomed to, newcomer Erik Rutan added some awesome power I’m sure no one felt the band was lacking.

https://cannibalcorpse.bandcamp.com/album/violence-unimagined

9. Ŭkcheănsălâwit – Alaskan Escape EP (Canada – Les Productions Hérétiques)

My favourite EP of the year! This speedily album feels bleak and cold – which is exactly what it was going for. To showcase a song: To an Alaskan Glacier, while minimal in instruments, is huge in drama making for an incredible feat to achieve. I would surely buy a full LP of this music whenever one is made.

https://ukcheansalawit.bandcamp.com/album/alaskan-escape

8. Olhava – Frozen Bloom (Russia – Avantgarde Music)

While Fluisteraars had a single 20-minute song, Olhava has one, plus a few more over the 10-minute mark. The Russian duo pieces beautifully intense music with a raging atmosphere and subtle soundscapes. While two of the four songs are really black metal, Olhava brings in drone and ambient elements which perfectly encapsulates the ebb and flow of the natural concept they were aiming for in Frozen Bloom.

https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/frozen-bloom

7. Outre-Tombe – Abysse Mortifère (Canada – Temple of Mystery Records)

This band just keeps impressing. Outre-Tombe’s now three for three on making my annual lists and for good reason – their music is really flipping awesome. Moments of Abysse Mortifère remind me of early-Voivod, while others standout as early-Morbid Angel. A ripping good time, Abysse Mortifère knocks it out of the park.

https://templeofmystery.bandcamp.com/album/abysse-mortifere

6. Cynic – Ascension Codes (United States –Season of Mist)

After two thirds of the band passed away in 2020, how could Cynic continue? Paul Masvidal carries on Sean Reinert’s and Sean Malone’s legacy with Ascension Codes – a strange, yet familiar feeling. While the album feels bogged down by short interludes between songs, the music is an emotional progressive journey: absolutely brilliant and constantly transcending.

https://cyniconline.bandcamp.com/album/ascension-codes

5. Liquid Tension Experiment – Liquid Tension Experiment 3 (United States – InsideOut)

Their first release since LTE2 in 1999, LTE3 brings back the brilliance of Dream Theater members John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Mike Portnoy, along with legendary bassist Tony Levin, to produce one of the most surprising albums for me this year. All-instrumental, LTE3 is not so much a jam session like previous albums, but a well-executed romp into prog rock and metal.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6GDFV4kWsQDYuah6tSqmu2

4. Grima – Rotten Garden (Russia – Naturmacht Productions)

My favourite atmospheric black metal album of the year, Grima’s Rotten Garden was also the first album I picked up when it was released in January. It has been regularly spun since. It’s haunting beauty comes together with nature and grandiose scope. With the odd keyboard frill and additional accordion in certain songs, Rotten Garden is absolutely a fresh listen to every spin.

https://grima.bandcamp.com/album/rotten-garden

3. Koldovstvo – Ни царя, ни бога (??? – Extraconscious Records)

Not much is known about the band and their debut album: A Russian band name. Roman Numeral song titles. Signed to an American label. Is it one person or a group? What Ни царя, ни бога is though, is an experience. Was the album recorded in another room? The production is both astonishing and very entrancing. It’s albums like this one which I live for. Tracks I and IV are absolute standouts.

https://koldovstvo.bandcamp.com/album/-

2. Ferriterium – Calvaire (France – Epictural Production)

Also released in January, I unfortunately wasn’t able to grab a physical copy as it sold out. And it sold out fast for good reason too: it’s incredible. Immediately fast and dramatic, Calvaire is doused in both strength and agony. A rich and fast-paced album, it’s still a melodic black metal journey filled with so much emotion and heartbreak, you find yourself picking up pieces when all is said and done.

https://ferriterium.bandcamp.com/album/calvaire

1. Mannveira – Vitahríngur (Iceland – Dark Descent Records)

There’s a handful of albums that happen to be there when you need them the most. Mannveira’s debut album Vitahríngur just happened to be that album for me this year.

Doused in sludge and dreariness, Vitahríngur time-and-time again happened to be my go-to when I needed it the most. It’s raw, rather simplistic approach to music writing can keep the listener engrossed to the music and feel what they need to feel.

Rarely going into blast beats or fast speeds, the album keeps a mostly mid-paced tempo to it – its dark nature sucking you in with each kick of the bass drum. The muddied vocals give grief, anger, and sorrow, keeping with the overall tone of the album. The song, Í köldum faðmi is a perfect example of all of that.

While the title track offers a bit of optimism, the album constantly keeps you down, throwing the listener back into the cacophonous well.

While straying a slight bit from the overall sound of Icelandic black metal, Vitahríngur still defines its own sound with a nihilistic approach and gloomy dissonance.

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vitahr-ngur

Honourable Mentions:

Ungfell – Es grauet

Anneke van Giersbergen – The Darkest Skies are the Brightest

Cerebral Rot – Excretion of Mortality

Dordeduh – Har

Hulder – Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry

The Crown – Royal Destroyer

Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee

Proscriptor McGovern’s Apsû – Proscriptor McGovern’s Apsû

Havukruunu – Kuu Erkylän Yllä EP

Most Disappointed:

Steven Wilson – The Future Bites

Darkthrone – Eternal Hails

Bent Knee – Frosting

Review: Blessed by Perversion – Remnants of Existence

On By UncannyDerekIn Music ReviewsLeave a comment

Blessed by Perversion – Remnants of Existence
Iron, Blood and Death Corporation

Brutally intense with some pulse-pounding riffs and beats, Blessed by Perversion’s second album, Remnants of Existence, is a thrilling album for death metal fans to really engage with.

Ironically (or coincidentally) the Greek band released their album on Christmas Day in 2020. Their six-track album hits the ground running and setting a mood of what they’re trying to accomplish. The intro track, Descending into the Catacombs, is a slow minute-fifteen-long burn as the listener becomes surrounded by the sounds and sights the music creates in their mind. Then come the double kicks and Gallery of Bones picks the album up.

Flowing with mid-paced and rhythmic chugging for a short while, a sudden change in structure is where Hell breaks loose. Guitar and bass change – the tempo picks up and the listener is slammed with a wall of brutality. With an impressive guitar solo and well-placed, almost groovy riffs near the end of the track, the song ends only to be carried by an even heavier track, Atonement Refused.

Feeling more in-place with mid-90s death metal, Atonement Refused rips through with blistering speed. The hefty chugs within the chorus, followed by its technical bridge – and well-placed bass groove – changes up with moments of a Phrygian scale and mirrors something sounding almost from Nile. However, it doesn’t come across like a “copy” as the ideas fits within the atmosphere and feeling Remnants of Existence is aiming to create.

Within Among the Tombs of Absent Gods, the crushing riffs don’t stop. Feeling even darker than the last track, the album continues its descent for the listener. With layered vocals, the growls become more sinister and absorb the listener down the band’s dark path.

In Caverns of Torture, there’s a Cannibal Corpse-y feel to the song with its finger tapping intro and addition to more treble on bass guitar. The pounding chorus with pinched harmonics, along with the slamming snare adds some interesting colour to the already impressive track. After a bit of a break down, the song resets itself with the finger tapping intro and descends into madness with a dark guitar solo and filthy riffs that really pushes out the aggression.

The anthem-like Within Monumental Chaos concludes the album with probably the more memorable chorus on the album. The song features a descending scale with a technical breakdown which, in my opinion, really encapsulates the songwriting prowess of Blessed by Perversion. With a sweeping guitar solo, the song begins its double-kick conclusion as it wraps up the album with an epic, yet dark feeling.

Every song on the album was an impressive feat. While bass could been louder in some moments and kick drums may feel over-processed in some parts, Remnants of Existence floored me with quality in both production and song-writing capability. Rarely do I get to review albums from independent bands that really knock me off my feet.

A technically brilliant and dark, haunting journey, Blessed by Perversion’s Remnants of Existence is an album within the death metal realm that should not be missed.

Blessed by Perversion on Bandcamp

Review: Bloodfeast Ritual – Altars of Sacrifice

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Bloodfeast Ritual – Altars of Sacrifice
Self-release

In their debut EP Altars of Sacrifice, Los Angeles band Bloodfeast Ritual serve up the guts and glory of old school death metal alongside a variety of death metal styles.

With relentless energy throughout each song, the 20-minute EP perseveres with a battery of brutality mixed in with many melodic moments. In the opening track Grave Fodder, the very-Swedish death metal influence shines through. Many unison riffs in the higher register initially present the band similar to one like Arch Enemy – with epic choruses and bright solos – the song provides a lot of heft among the beauty.

That beauty, however, somewhat disappears within the next song title: Eternally Molested By The One Most Foul. With the band still reeling Swedish death influences, the song itself begins to show a different sound the band is going for. With an influence more similar to the band Death, the song features lots guitar prowess while still being a cohesive song. Riffs and chugging dominate the majority of the song with more-shredding than melodic solos in-between.

And yet, the style changes yet again, rather smoothly into classic death metal with No More Room in Hell. Featuring some of the more guttural vocals on the album, the music also feels heavier. The layered vocals hearken to Aborted, but the music to something like Cannibal Corpse. Fast and devastating, the lyrics even evoke the scenes from Dawn of the Dead: “Eat them one by one / Feast upon the intestines / Smell of death fills the air.”

The heaviest song on the album, Chopped Up and Burned, is the song with the most weight. Blast beats abound, the darkest lyrics, the dirtiest riffs: the song has it all. The very traditional death metal sound is the clear inspiration for the song, with some of the more fast and intense solos the album has to offer.

Concluding the EP with the shortest track, Fetid Offering is the “newest-sounding” song on the album, with melody similar to the first track and guttural vocals reaching some of the higher registers, almost becoming screams. The song ends the EP on a high note with a steady growing, epic-feeling conclusion which somewhat contrasts the rest of the album.

With plenty of ideas mixed together as an EP, it shows many different avenues Bloodfeast Ritual can take. Although each song is brilliantly constructed, as a cohesive whole, the listener may get mixed messages to what the sound the band really wants to achieve.

Consistently brutal and relentlessly thrashy, Bloodfeast Ritual’s Altars of Sacrifice is an impressive and intense debut showcasing the many musical influences and songwriting prowess the band has to offer.

Bloodfeast Ritual on Bandcamp

Review: Al-Namrood – Wala’at

On By UncannyDerekIn Editor's Pick, Music ReviewsLeave a comment

Al-Namrood – Wala’at
Shaytan Productions

Saudi Arabia is not well-known for black metal, yet the country is a muse for what the genre is about: religion, monarchy, paganism, and suppression – just a handful of topics which black metal relates in. Tackling these topics head-on with their seventh album, Al-Namrood’s newest release, Wala’at (“Loyalties” in English) continues stoking the flames of anger and disgust the band feels towards their government and the religion that surrounds it.

The anti-Islamic and anti-fascist themes of Al-Namrood’s music is both intense and dramatic. Mixing musical styles of both Western and Middle Eastern instruments, the band brings a familiarly dissonant style of black metal with the rather sharp contrast with harmonic Middle Eastern scales and tones. The two cultures blend together and create a hauntingly different feeling and mood to the genre.

While the band members remain anonymous due to the potential of the death penalty for performing their music, the three musicians aptly show their musical competency with melodies among the chaos and the foresight on when to change arrangements in their songs.

Standing out foremost in Wala’at is singer Humbaba, who alone brings a huge energetic performance to the music. Between the grunts, screams, and cries, Humbaba’s vocals are flexible and offer an incredible range and dynamic to the music. In fact, his enthusiasm comes together as one of the biggest triumphs on the album. Confident and devastating, his and stanzas are chilling at times while encouraging and uplifting in others. Without always understanding the lyrics, one can still get a feeling for what the band wants to portray. The pain, frustration, and demands for reform are obvious to the listener: Al-Namrood wants the listener to experience what they feel – and successfully does so with each performance.

In tracks like Kail Be Mekialain, musicians Mephisto and Ostron synchronize riffs together to create hauntingly eerie tones – even more so with the reverb cranked up on the drum samples in each song. Linked with Humbaba, there’s a common chemistry between the trio that energizes the music, elevating it beyond what most bands with decades of history are unable achieve.

In another track, Aar Al Estibad, the riffs are thrash-y and come with a punk-ish feel until the Arabian instruments join in. Those instruments ultimately change the feel of the song and move expectations from “just another black metal track” to something different. While the song itself technically doesn’t set new standards or heights in black metal, it’s still a powerful song which sticks with the listener for its almost hypnotic melodies and grinding vocal hums.

With all songs staying under the five minute mark, the near-forty minute album is an intense feast on the ears. Perhaps too overwhelming at first, the second, third, and multiple spins after will continue to bring the listener back to absorb the beauty and raw power Al-Namrood offer with Wala’at.

Al-Namrood – Wala’at on Bandcamp

Review: Deathcraeft – On Human Devolution

On By UncannyDerekIn Music ReviewsLeave a comment

Deathcraeft – On Human Devolution
Self-release

Deathcraeft’s debut and concept album, On Human Devolution, features lots of juicy riffs and hefty blast beats with lyrics that explore the socio-political and self-destructing nature of humanity. With clear influences from Testament, Possessed, and Aborted come together, this Greek band offers a surprisingly genuine effort of great arrangements and solid songwriting.

While the The Ritual starts things off with lots of heft and thrash metal influence, The Beginning of the End really kick starts the album with brilliant riffs and chugging that are catchy as hell. The song also starts to showcase more death metal influences in the band while still holding its thrash-like feel – the guitar and bass sounds feel thick and heavy and filled with a groove that almost adds a Pantera-like influence to the song.

Spreading Lies fluctuates with tempos and provides a lot of different highlights throughout the song which feel naturally powerful with its upbeat, catchy chorus.

The fourth track, Welcome to Oblivion, features the closest resemblance to the Possessed/Testament-influence. The groovy descending riffs layered on top of the battering double kicks really strike the listener with intensity. The chorus has triumphant moments which do not detract from the brutality before it, and ripping solos compliment the chorus as it transitions back into the verses.

If there’s one major compliment to give, singer Nikonas Tsolakos offers a wide range with his vocal styles. Whether grunts, growls, screams, or gutteral whispers, there’s a versatile mix of singing provided on the album which keeps the album fresh and easily digestible for listeners who may shy away from the more lower range of death metal vocals.

While featuring one of the better solos on the album, Survival slows down the pace the album has been running with. As a six minute song, it becomes a bit of a fight to bring the album back up again with the next song, Daydreaming in the Abyss, which arguably could have been the slower song transitioning into Paving the Way. However, the slow down allows the listener a bit of breathing room to absorb what they’ve heard before and perhaps realize a lot of the riffs and songwriting had been thematic in many songs – something that can be overlooked and certainly is not common in the death/thrash genre.

With the longest song on the album, Free into the Void is the most climatic song on the album – fitting to conclude the 48-minute concept album off properly – as it closes with a dripping-with-mood conclusion. With some of the heaviest riffs and fastest double kicks on the album, the song’s outro ends rather triumphantly – almost pulling from the folk metal sub genre with feelings of Amon Amarth shining through.

Intense, brutal, and surprisingly progressive, Deathcraeft’s debut throws lots of surprises at the listener to make a impressively creative debut.

Deathcraeft – On Human Devolution