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%
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