ORCIVUS
‘Consummatum Est'
(Next Horizon Records)
Genuine dedication to darkness’ consuming void, both lyrically and musically, designed to crush all weak souls is the code word for this album. Yeah, humanity has been blindfolded, fed with garbage like pigs for slaughter and perfectly happy receiving such treatment. I can’t explain otherwise why Orcivus isn’t continuously mentioned in the same breath as the other top-shelf Swedish black metallers – this is seriously that good, or should I say evil? Frenetic, masterfully composed and played, this stuff radiates a true aura of bleak hopelessness and despair, listening upon listening unveiling its little intricacies, thus adding a deep feeling of negative emotion to the already impressive initial impact. Never boring for a second, these eight songs are built to last – unrelenting, memorable and Hell-fueled insanity that steals your soul and delivers its pity remains at the gate of no return. A textbook example of Swedish blackness – all cheap imitations beware, as this is the band that rightfully defends the unholy legacy once associated with the real, frightening, black metal spirit.
ORCIVUS
‘Est Deus In Nobis’
(Next Horizon Records)
Casting the plague once more, Orcivus have created yet another album that is bound to please all hungry souls swearing allegiance to chaos, blasphemy and glorification of the inner strength. The songs are filled with discordant riffs and melodies, relentless drumming and menacing vocals that at any given point spread the message of darkness with great clarity. That’s how it should be done, my friends. Adding more variation and haunting passages to their nuclear arsenal the band have also succeed to come up with songs that are even more memorable than past stuff, resulting in an album you can only miss at your own expense. Naysayers might try to pass off nonsense this being a Dissection clone but what I see in Orcivus is more in the lines of similar mind trip and unending devotion to the arcane, both lyric and music wise. Lay down your souls.
NEX 'Zero'
(Next Horizon Records)
There's definitely no rest for the wicked and this band, which features Tore Stjerna in its line up, is yet another proof of the old saying. Wave after wave of pure melancholy are directed at the listener's aural port through these snail paced doom metal compositions, which in band's own act of confession have been recorded as a nod to the early works of Anathema, Candlemass, My Dying Bride and Katatonia. That said, I shall add Nex to be quite adept at the chosen style – this stuff has a strong hypnotizing effect on the brain, guitars creating a suffocating vibe during the album's duration and the thick production allows the dying heartbeat rhythm section to pummel the unexpected. This is a grower type of a release, the more one invests on it, the more it pays back and given some time, and the right mood, 'Zero' crawls under your skin and reaches for your utter attention. Recommended to everyone with a taste for morose journeys into his/her own subconsciousness.
Nex MySpace
TORTURE DIVISION
‘Evighetens Darar’
(Abyss Records)
After well over two decades of monstrously massive Swedish reign on various metal fronts it comes off naturally when you see familiar faces in bands and projects currently doing the turns. Having a line-up consisting of Jorgen Sandstrom (yes, that Sandstrom), The Project Hate’s guitarist K. Phlipson, Vomitory’s Tobias on the drum helm and helped by an outstanding production by Dan Swano, this band is going to deliver, and then some, to even the most jaded death metal maniac. There’s no pretension here, this music grabs you by the throat from the get go, obliterates your senses with its blasting, overly energized and catchy as all hell death metal intensity and leaves you in well deserved awe. Also the album’s duration of less than half hour makes perfect sense – you’d be able to catch some breath before pressing the repeat button for another round consisting of Torture Division punishing you with a real lesson in violent, unrelenting, death metal. Do yourself a favour and get this, either from the label or directly from the band’s site, where you’d be able to download this album in its entirety, plus some older stuff and which site holds an amazing idea of how music reach the listeners. This band simply can’t do wrong.
Torture Division
SINCARNATE ‘As I Go Under’ (Hatework)
I was glad to be sent band’s brand-new album from Sincarnate’s main man, guitarist, lyricist, and all around cool guy Giani, after contacting him about the review I did on their older material. What’s of importance is that this Romanian band, despite all hardships and line-up changes, has succeed to progress on every level and wrote an album that fully deserves your attention. The songs are masterfully crafted, displaying a range of emotions that are as varied and interweaving into one another as in our own existence – this is doom death done with class, knowledge and genuine devotion. Strong, floating guitar melodies, helped by equally interesting, ethnically influenced at times, keyboards, inventive drumming and a vocalist who’s able to find the right approach for what the music calls for in the given moment. All doomsters are encouraged to support this fresh sounding band, the scene needs such acts for a proof that when ambition meets up with work coming directly from the heart the end result can be nothing else but a really captivating listening experience.
Sincarnate MySpace
ABOMINANT
‘Where Demons Dwell’
(Deathgasm Records)
Yeah, I’m catching up to this band way too late in their career, this being the first album of Abominant I listened to, and their ninth altogether. More the fool me as the band’s style of high octane death is bound to please these ears, now I like it when the music is this maniacally intense and variable. Freak not, this is still the metal of death but these bastards have heard their fair share of both thrash and black, and it shows. Insane speed, throaty vocals spewing forth messages of hatred, massive guitar riffs – if death metal blasphemy is what you’re craving for Abominant has it in abundance. Bands like this deserve huge respect for continuing against all odds, trends and overall stupidity and keeping to their chosen path, now wasn’t metal meant to be stubborn, rebellious and all about individuality? Don’t know for you but for Abominant that’s what it means. And they back this up with crushing music.
