Cauldron - Tomorrow's Lost

A new traditional heavy metal resurgence is blooming and erupting voluptuously, and it's great. In a short deal of time, we got tons of fresh acts, mostly good and augmenting, and plague is on a wild surge. Sweden, Canada and the States are easily the flag-bearers in the rampage, each deliberately exposing bands in immense quality and quantity, and though Canada has been more notorious for its surgical bulk of blackened bombastic caveman and vociferous gurgle-deliverers, its still has a solid traditional heavy metal scene, and Cauldron has got to be one of the leaders of national pack of wolves. The band unleashed two consecutive full-length albums that embrace that same semi-melancholic, ball-out assault fashion of heavy metal, and on the third release, signing to modern heavy metal fodder Earache Records, they've once again succeeded in delivering the blatant and the vivacious; good news for the band's drooling fans.

Cauldron really doesn't dive much deep when it comes to penning the compositions. I mean, even though I quite enjoyed the album in general, there's always that brooding simplicity just sitting there, not sure if it should enter the derby or not, and that kind of lack of intricacy makes me feels uncertain at times, as if waiting for an explosion that's never gonna actually come. Otherwise, the whole album is in the works. They've practically mechanized their formula, projecting it the most robust way possible, and they've even started to snatch the sprinkles out from the old cookie box and start decorating the mixture. For people who are not acquainted with Cauldron's sound, let me explain briefly: the band stitches up numerous NWOBHM influences with a few segments of Mercyful Fate to boast the melancholia, and then some Maiden to keep things fresh and juicy. I actually kind of liked the limitations of extreme ecstatic energy, because the band has a ponderous base structure provided by a massive, bulbous hunk of a guitar tone, so the riffs almost sound oppressive, something like you average heavy/doom album...

There are, of course, given that the album has its fair share of dynamics, some faster hooks like ''Burning Fortune'' which shimmer with the dreary output of the chords and brisker take on the vocals. The solos are fairly impressive too; casual and crisp and they don't really break the law by exploding amid the tightly mashed doom-paced chords, more points for the band. John Decay has an interesting vocal touch, something that hovers around epic and doomy, resembling Helloween or even John Arch of Fates Warning at best. ''Tomorrow's Lost'', in total, may not be what the fans are quite expecting perhaps, thanks to the deep channeling of doom n' gloom, but with it's traditional cunning it certainly makes for a sweet treat - don't you skip this.

Highlights:
Tomorrow's Lost
Summoned To Succumb
Born To Struggle 
Burning Fortune

Rating: 85%

Lich King - Born Of The Bomb

So exposed to the crestfallen miasma of countless darkened grotesqueries and so spoiled to fervor-riddled old school death metal and retro-thrash throwbacks boasting the boisterous concoctions of modernity and archaic demonstrations of the olden acts that we've been utterly blinded by a stockpile of dirt and irrelevancy, which has blotted our sight for far too long. Given so many contenders impetuously entering the all-out assault, I've found weeding through the plentiful quantities and acquiring distinct quality to be one of the most arduous tasks of all, and yet sometimes, you get an abrupt, unexpected blast of fresh air in your face, arousing hope for today's metal trends. I'm well acquainted with Tom Martin's fellowship of thrash, Lich King, mainly because the continuous applause they're earning throughout the modern battlefield of thrash, relentlessly releasing new material, thrash after thrash, and yet, amid the ingenious tactics used to construct the band's latest effort, ''Born Of The Bomb'', I have to confide that I never had any kind of adoration for the band.

Before the release of this record, I had no reverence for the act, even less love for their cheesy zombie/nuclear devastation themes, and even if they excluded the lyrical antics from their compositions, the music was simply not diverse enough to appease me. What possible difference did the band have among tens and thousands of fresh act joining the resurgence orgy? None. And yet, ironically, ''Born Of The Bomb'' doe not really expand the band's parallel focus on thrash metal either. So why is it much more satisfying? I honestly have no idea. What was, to hundreds of Lich King fans worldwide, a simple, positive improvement and an advancement with nuances towards a robuster formula, to me, feels as if the pace has increased dramatically, stepping up from night, to day. I can't find a logical explanation for this brusque change of mind, but I believe this is mainly because the band has evolved into a more mature act, more serious, more professional, while still letting a bit of that beer-riddled guitar craze flow out of the band's harsh, street-bound  veins. In my obstinate persistence, I also believe that now, the band has truly found the sound they had been seeking for long years.

The entire record reeks of Vio-lence, Morbid Saint, Demolition Hammer, Exodus, and any other Bay Are oriented acts you can imagine. What the band aims with their developed formula, is something a little deeper than their previous efforts, as the band gives equal weight to various elements throughout to support the color of the album. Pure destruction and thrash driven wreckage is not the only target the vandals have hung on to, it seems, though surprisingly, it's one aspect that has improved. Immediately after the opener, ''All Hail'', ''We Came To Conquer'' literally collapses on the listener like rain of serrated sharp boulders, plummeting out of the sky, and unto the perplexed mass of people. The band's structural prose does not depend on the same, verse-chorus pattern anymore, as well; instead, some of the more harmonious blends like ''Agnoticism'' have a crude melodious captivity to them, which can instantly hook the listener. Tom Martin, whose vocal style I have scoffed at many times, is fucking mad, and the guy could have easily led men to battle while tearing down hunks of flesh with a wicked two-sided battleaxe.

I'm much more pleased with this record that I though I would be, and given that it's clearly one of the best pure thrash records the year has offered us up to this point, I think it deserves a good many accolades. Really, I would prefer the olden masters over the countless gimmicks anytime, but they are a few acts, or albums that I sometimes find myself liking more than several old school releases. This is definitely a nice addition to that list. May them never decline.

Highlights:
Agnoticism 
Combat Mosh
We Came To Conquer

Rating: 85,5%

Striker - Armed To The Teeth

The amount of new bands who are channeling the Gods that bestowed heavy metal upon us don't seem to be stopping anytime soon, and I am absolutely fine with that. For every handful of newer acts that tread along the same mediocre path, there is another band taking the high road and releasing quality music. Bands like White Wizzard, Cauldron, In Solitude, Trial and Enforcer have all ushered in a new era of the '80s heavy metal sound with their brilliant releases, and now Striker is looking to join the upper ranks of today's scene after releasing their second full-length "Armed to the Teeth," ten songs full of soaring vocals, heavy riffs, stellar melodies and solos, and a large dose of fuck you, old-school rock n' roll attitude that has been missing from a lot of today's acts who focus on sounding occult or epic.

Much like most of today's newer traditional metal bands, the majority of riffs and other rhythm instruments just aren't too significant as far as the memorability of each track goes when standing on their own. Most of the riffs gravitate towards typical midpaced riffs and the occasional thrashy, speed metal type riff, but I don't recall many of the riffs themselves, but that's not really a problem given the rest of the band's efforts. Dan Cleary's vocals are one of the major highlights on this record, and a major reason why "Armed to the Teeth" possesses any sort of memorability. Not only are his vocals soothing and pleasant to listen to, but they mesh with the riffs and everything else effortlessly and they make the rest of the music better. Cleary's performance and delivery also allows for the music to resonate in the listener's skull, as he can wail away and hit high notes, sing beautifully with the melodies or put on a total rocker front which gives the music an awesome Scorpions or Judas Priest kind of feel, while Striker forges on with their own sound simultaneously.

Unlike a lot of the riffs, the melodies and solos found throughout this record are entirely amazing. "Fight For Your Life" and "Feed My Fire" both retain such a high amount of replay ability because the guitar duo's use of melodies serve as the ideal backdrop for Cleary's vocals to come in and ingrain the music in the listener's brain. "It Could Be Worse" is an infectious track that is sure to be a live favorite with its catchy rock n' roll influenced riffs and very air-guitar-worthy solos. After a few listens to "Armed to the Teeth" it's no surprise as to why Striker is gaining a lot of momentum in today's scene, as this album is exactly the kind of game-changer that can propel these Canadians to a higher level. If you're a fan of any of today's better newer traditional metal acts (Cauldron and White Wizzard in particular) then there should be zero hesitation in checking these guys out, and even if you don't, it still won't be enough to stop the rush...

Highlights:
"It Could Be Worse"
"Fight For Your Life"
"Feed My Fire"

Rating: 86%

Originally written for Skull Fracturing Metal Zine.

Insepulto - Morbid Spawn Of Resurrection

Insepulto is band of certain peculiarities. Firstly, the trio hail from Costa Rica, which, although is closely on tact with some of the ruling countries which present the most bombastic brutality and cavernous void-filled obliteration of the last ten years, still doesn't have an extraordinarily spacious array of bands to keep up with their fellow South Americans. Second, peeking at the gloriously fashioned craftsmanship imbuing the archaic font of the logo, I honestly anticipated a far more esoteric, cathartic performance from these brutes, and thus, the occult themes retain plenty of mesmerizing subconscious elements into the forlorn heart of the music, a traditional paroxysm leveling at the main tendencies of the classic early 90's US death metal sound. The group is stellar in the execution in the riffs however, and the sense of boredom so scarcely passes by that you might feel as if you're being battered by a ugly horde of brute demons, a twisted, daunting seminar of pain.

''Morbid Spawn Of Resurrection'' has roots generally hovering over typical US death metal inclinations, but it's more of a patchwork than a strident, predictable path, really. Amid its rich texture, I hear numerous hints of late 80's/early 90's brutality; British influences for one, seem to be as dominant as the US influence, a composite of Cancer, Benediction and Bolt Thrower forms the frontier line of base punches and dexterous blasts, especially when the tremolos, deep and suffocating, flash into a flurried death/thrash engorgement, along with inimical South American elements to represent a bit of traditional fervor, for example, Sepultura or Executer, and even even tidbits of a frothing Sarcofago surge, for listeners who seek that sordid sauce in their dish. The rhythms are, as stated, ostentatious when rupturing with the pernicious spite of the hellish gutturals, and the band has an almost amazing sense of producing grooves and spectral moods to infuse with them, and furthermore, the brevity of the tracks is what holds the bridge between them efficient; whether you'll feel the pulverizing emissions of ''Epitome'' being hurled at your stomach, the semi-epic melodic black metal output of ''Misfortune'' or the rhythmic rumbles of the metalpunk insanity ''Orthodox'', you'll always get a sense of the album's well-constructed delivery and the band's potency in creating such dangerously shattering riffs.

Insepulto manages to create a notably strong, and very enjoyable effort, despite not quite sauntering through spurious territory. It's always good to get some fresh air out of good 'ol death metal brutality out of any utensil lying around, and the item these South Americans have picked is the dark, brooding murk of Incantation, which is, to me, a brilliant fit. What else can be said about the album? They've clearly nailed the formula even with  a bit of their own flaunting succession hinted here and there, they're old fucking school, they've perfectly executed their compositions, so the only remaining gap to fill is penning even better material - not that this isn't great, it's just not outstanding. I'm not quarreling to ask for some death metal convolution, I just want even better written brick-wall riffs, I want deeper moods; I want more. Let's just hope that these devils turn all miscreant against their ancestors like the others and disappoint us on the sequel. I don't think they will, either.

Highlights:
Summerian
Epitome
Carnal 
Orthodox

Rating: 86%

Lacerated Metal Weekly Playlist III

To make up for last weeks playlist, I thought of including a peculiar little list of old school thrash stuff I've been repeatedly listening over the last two weeks. I think I might make some more of these old school exceptions every once in a while. Anyway, here it is, my delirious thrash binge:

Right To Die, by Hydra Vein, off the Rather Death Than False Of Faith album
1988, Thrash metal, UK
Sounds like: Regular Bay Area thrash with charismatic, static vocalist.

Afterlife, by Sacrifice, off The Forward To Termination album
1987, Thrash metal, Canada
Sounds like: Early Exodus and Slayer mashed together.

Wildfire, by Sabbat, off The Dreamweaver album
1989, Speed/thrash, UK
Sounds like: Ulysses Siren, early Demolition Hammer, Sadus.

U.S.S.A, by Indestroy, off the Indestroy album
1987, Thrash metal, USA
Sounds like: Street/Anti-Poseur thrash, Possessed, ''Kill 'em All'' era Metallica.

10,000 Days (Of Bloodshed), by Blessed Death, off the Destined For Extinction album
1987, Speed/thrash, USA
Sounds like: A crude Holy Mosses, Detente, Holy Terror.

Sudden Fall, by Coroner, off the Punishment For Decadence album
1988, Technical Thrash metal, Switzerland
Sounds like: Coroner (duh), Voivod, Watchtower, Annihilator, Mekong Delta, ''DI'' era Deathrow.

I'll Only Say It Once, by Razor, off the Violent Restitution album
1988, Speed/thrash, Canada
Sounds like: Whiplash, Sacrifice, Exciter, dirty street thrash.

Cloak Of Darkness, by Cancer, off the The Sins Of Mankind album
1993, Death/thrash, UK
Sounds like: Early Death, Obituary, Possessed, Massacre

Halloween, by Bezerker, off the Lost album
1989, Thrash metal, Australia
Sounds like: Bruce Dickinson + Slayer/Demolition Hammer/(Insert brutal thrash band here)

I was actually surprised there were three bands from the UK. And as you can see, 1988 is easily the winning year for thrash, closely followed by 1989/1987.

Daemonicus - Deadwork

Daemonicus are just another group aiming to emulate their countless peers and components, who, like themselves have committed entirely to the now culminated fashions of Swedish death metal. With a fairly large history in the background, Daemonicus possess certain experience, and moreover, after channeling the borders of Swedish death on their previous thread of simplistic compositions, they now in expectancy of better, augmented results with their ravenous melodious rage, ''Deadwork''. In all its non-encompassing glory and primordial frenzies, ''Deadwork'' is not a record set to enlighten the band's impoverished burden, nor is it made to thrill hardcore fans of Swedish death metal, but it's rather made to deliver what has already been delivered, in gore-soaked bombastic melodic boombox of pain.

Perhaps it is a conjecture, but I can scarcely imagine that this group will ever reach stupendous heights. This is something concerning the band's desire than potency, because, after all, the group has projected a professional sound robustly, especially by using modernized, crushing Swedeath furnaces, and the band is quite potent throughout their crazed, inimical anger, but I feel that if the band really wanted to do something different, they would have already flourished the basis of such a formula by the sophomore; yet, this is the result. I can still be quite content with this semi-melodious attachment and immense tone, shattering my spine though, and although there are a few hooks that might not quite get hold of you, within its massive circulation, Daemonicus sounds damn fine. The chord conjunctions sound squeky clean, as is the modernization polished the entire plethora of riffs, the melodious are fluent, abrupt but follow into each other logically, and the dual guitar harmonious are spewing fourth tangible despair, good enough for me.

Even the vocals, while still far from excellent have a subtle cavernous edge to them which provides a substantial boast for aggressive energy. ''The Hymn Of Ubo Sathla'', example, is where the vocals shine in my opinion, along with plenty richly textured riffing stretched upon mournful clean guitar arpeggios, growling out an obscure, guttural murkiness into the heaving chugs, so clearly, these bastards have gotten a good grasp on that Swedish formula. This, while offering absolutely nothing renowned, has got to be one of the more vigorous ejections we've come across this year, all thanks to its bulbous tone and explosive mechanism, but even so, I can't say any death metal fan will disdain this. After all, throughout the whole thing you feel as though some cannibal is about to pounce out of its unknown whereabouts and gobble you up ravenously.

Highlights:
A Deadwork Of Art
We Feast On Your Flesh
The Hymn Of Ubo Sathla

Rating: 76%

Of Spire And Throne - Vagary

Indeed, the sludge scene is a scene that has been much better familiarized by mainstream audiences than its legendary yet somehow degraded counterpart doom metal, but is comparing these two genres was ever the situation, I'd choose doom every single time. One of the prime reasons of my verdict, is a growing rumble of underground vibrations which find themselves hooked upon the lugubrious styles of doom, now broadening their spears and axes to dabble their material in even more primal succession than before, instead of keeping true to the traditional bloodline set by the masters Cathedral, or Candlemass. This fresh surge has revivicated the murky and ultimately dismal power of death/doom along with other provokers of sadistic and incomprehensible tyranny such as Antediluvian, Portal, Vasaeleth or Mitchondrion, who, although have certain differences, still aim to grasp that dark and drowning filth riddled subtext of torment, and these ghastly explorations continue for my latest discovery, Scotland's Of Spire And Throne, is the definition of monstrous death/doom.

Alongside my second death/doom favorite of the year, ''Serpentine Path'' by the infamous Serpentine Path, OSAT's ''Vagary'' has evoked a cunning sense of degraded mutilation and clawing, incessant yet drudging torture in me. These rank, befouled golem-fiends are actually a relatively new wave of bands. They do not intensify any of the olden death/doom masters in a way of ripping them off, but they bathe themselves in this tempestuous momentum some seek to find so often these days, creating Cylopean monoliths, swaggering slowly, painfully. Vagary exposes all the filthiest material they have and collapse in one single twenty-minute fall, and the earth around you literally quivers in response to this lurch. In such a drowning, asphyxiating cauldron it's merely impossible take a break through all that fog and plumes of dark dense smoke and breathe, which is pretty much the gold of the EP. The rhythms are immense, layered with exceedingly simple crunches and crushes, plodding along the elephantine obelisk, but every lurch is an all-encompassing spasm flushing through your thoughts and smoldering your brain - the perfect mind fucker.

The vocals are scarce, as they seldom jump into action and prefer abusing the rhythms from afar with distant gurgle growls, but the best thing is that they're laid down with a nice hint cavernous murkiness, a stupendous manifestation of evil. ''Vagary'' is simply excellent if you are into such mourning drudgery of doom and death, and even fleshier a treat for those who devour funeral death/doom combos emerging from the cthtonic debts. However, even though I am a huge sucker for death/doom darkness in the vein of Winter, I need to confide that the material here can be overly boring and far too monotonous for those of you who seek more vivacious experiments; but even so, I don't think many will manage to overcome the encompassing murk of this album, and albeit I don't love the drudgery here, I'm still going to show my support for this mischievous quartet and abominable creation. Keep it up.

Highlight:
Vagary

Rating: 80%

Tumbleweed Dealer - Death Rides Southwards

Though the sludge genre has gained immense popularity over latter years compared to its peer and forefather (in a way) doom, I still find it hard to enjoy any upcoming sludge bombasts coming my way; and worst of all, with prodigious quantities of bands preferring sludge over doom, my grasp on snail-paced quality metal is becoming aggravatingly tenuous. Yes, there are still a few high calibre and true doom metal bands out there just doing their job, slurping around and splattering ominous drudgery all over, and there even a few acts that are capable of mashing the two genres up and still sound good, but the numbers are dwindling. Tumbleweed Dealer are an interesting and little known act that became known to me only in recent weeks.

The band can be mostly qualified as sludge, though I think I’m more fortunate than that. The Dealers basically put chunks of emphasis on sludge’s bluesy tendencies, which, I believe, according to the tenets of sludge can be thought as a rather unorthodox thing. I’m usually not very open to changes or modernization in metal, but when these nuances are stretched upon characteristics that I find agitating, I can be pretty content; and these guys are a perfect example of it. It’s hard to even call this metal, because I’d certainly dub it as a bastardized overtone of blues, and really, it’s the subtle extremity and heft of those bashing blues chords that make all the difference. The EP is pretty short in truth, ranging at ten minutes, but the band, using all sorts of jiving bluesy manoeuvres, crams a lot of material into the brief box of riffs. The two tracks both commence with rumbling, boisterous sludge trudges, and the staircase of progression begins.  As the rhythm section progresses, the band starts fitting in blues-tinged leads upon each riff, and further on the orchestration becomes even more complex as more and more leads bind into each other, ultimately creating a sorrowful web of melodies that are neither excessively convoluted nor too simple for the seeker of interest.

Through contrast, instrumental efficiency and intricacy, the band has earned accolades from me, and their performance, though not unbelievably impressive, is solid enough to catch the attention of pretty much anyone who has some interest in sludge or blues, and with its semi-ominous overtone flanking the listener vaguely, I believe that Tumbleweed Dealer can achieve something that’s truly inspired and different – and even if they somehow flounder, this EP is a recommended piece. 

Highlights:

Death Rides Southwards

Crawling Through Cacti

Rating: 79%

Ataraxy - Revelations Of The Ethereal

Spain has become, over the years, one of the more prominent old school death metal fields worldwide. There seems to be substantial bands popping out during tumultuous bull races, and some have especially proved to be quality acts, Morbid Flesh, Graveyard, Mass Burial and Necroven for example, (not to mention some of the ruling tyrants of war metal Teitanblood and proclamation), and its densely threaded web is only growing denser. The simple truth about Ataraxy is that the moment I was acquainted with them, I knew I would like them. How? The brilliantly drawn cover suggests a semi-epic surge of atmospheric convulsion, and so does the album title, bearing a charismatic and almost subconscious surge of infinity, thus the music produced is an almost exact copy of the album art itself.

I have to emphasize on the cover one last time because I really, really like it; it heavily resembles Horrendous' self titled album, or Necrovation's self titled record, taking on the same ephemeral hue, and moreover, the album feels as if you're floating over some immersing dense liquid, swooshing and fluttering slowly, steadily. The mesmerizing atmospheric beauty of Horrendous meets Asphyx and it ripens in cauldron of Finnish macabre, infusing into a sort of dark, somber orchestration. These Finnish tendencies of course know when to froth and blast into dominant outburst, and besides its doom laden outputs and crunchy Finnish overtone, Ataraxy has a brilliant subtext of heavy fucking Swedish death metal; which especially fascinating because until now, nearly the entire catalog of Swedeath gimmicks had a subtext of contrast, and even sometimes, no contrast to revitalize their artillery, but the Spanish prove to be crudely antithetic somehow, ending up as the caveman yet still managing to become the exemplary specimen.

The production is somewhat terrific. I don't why I actually felt awe-stricken about it, and I definitely prefer a dark, less radiant production qualities over semi-atmospheric ones, but the production on ''Revelations Of The Ethereal is cavernous yet cleansed of impurity, and it supports the heaving momentous burden of the drip-drop trudges linked together, becoming ultimately rich and quite engrossing. The band certainly loves starting tracks off with ominous drudgery, first heaving a hefty body out of the bed as if awakening from a thousand-year slumber, them focusing on a more dynamic sound, and eventually bursting into blazing tremolo incursions. And as if the artillery weren't sufficient to keep the ears pulsing and bleeding, we also have a collision of sounds reminiscent of a demon raping Martin van Drunen and Chuck Shuldiner both, something that I will pitifully dub as ''vocals''. Overall, this entire output is just short of excellence. If you ever want to free yourself from the merciless incarceration of these retro death metal bands, take a brief forty-four minute voyage upon this ghastly little boat and sail out to find the obscurities of life, set sail towards Ataraxy.

Highlights:
Ominous Putrefied Ground
Demons Of The Storm
Ceremonial Storm

Rating: 88%

Into Darkness - Into Darkness [Demo]

Death/doom is a genre that has not been cultivated as frequently as its notorious counterpart, old school death metal, and this is not because it is not preferred among bands, but because few are able to fabricate it in it's ways of being gory, obsessed and stretched upon dark imagery. There has been a few acts in latter times, such as Undergang or Anhedonist who have worked these mysterious and ghastly nuances of death/doom as if contemplating a multi-threaded web, but the majority of the genre, as far as I can see, focuses on the inclinations of death/doom that developed after the primal beginnings of its aesthetics, mainly having a bloodline on par with such Gothic death/doom bands like later Paradise Lost or As I Lay dying; and even that vein of bands are now tainting their efficiency with modern influences, and thus a handful of long-lasting heroes are now left to carry this archaic art. Fortunately, after bastardizing thrash metal with a horrid and substantial wave of retro-thrash acts, Italy kicks in, with a brand new face in the cemetery - Into Darkness, probably one of the brightest hopes of the revival of old school death/doom.

This one-year-old trio does not rupture into an assertive display o completely fresh material, instead, as I said, it's a concise offering to the olden masters themselves. Mainly the band fluctuates between Derketa and Mythic, boiling in bleak broth of early Asphyx, and I was also surprised to hear no trace of Incantation here, because, after so many gimmicks the legend has become the trademark sound of countless albums, yet here, there's no infatuation with those indulgent inclinations, which is, in a way, a breath of fresh air. Into Darkness like cosmic and esoteric horror, galactic evil, and stuff like that which can pull you further in to the primeval coordination of the daunting gears that get the formula of the album going. Into Darkness can be ferocious at times, abruptly breaking into carnal and ruinous assaults, but the band likes to channel between heftier and sludgier riffs, keeping the pace volatile and fresh.

The demo has another upside besides its astronomic adoration. The tone is crisp but slightly cavern-riddled, which is perfect in bestowing that crisp and slightly haunting sense upon the listener, and the vocals, fierce and uproarious in their own voracious manner, are perfect for ripping flesh out of deaf ears, settling somewhere between Van Drunnen and John Walker of Cancer, and inimical overtone possessing the gutturals. With it's atmosphere, it's canal efficiency and every other dark aspect it possesses, Into Darkness have truly won my respect. It's a long way from here to composing a full-length, but already they're mustering a fairly convincing audience, and have signed with the great Unholy Domain Records for further trudging damage, perfecting their rather shortly anticipated kill streak. Well, almost. The band will still need to strive to obtain dominance over the gory seat of death/doom, but I have hope, that one day, the combo shall be complete.

Highlights:
Into Darkness
Shadows

Rating: 82%