Remnants of Existence

Remnants of Existence is some Christmas present, all right, never mind the fact that we ended a horrible year. It needed this type of record in such times, coming out on Christmas. With one musician replacement over the years, it took the band four and a half years to come up with their sophomore, and it’s a bit disappointing that their EP is almost as long as this record. With the amount of songs (excluding the prelude) that resemble the exact same amount of their EP’s, you can consider this an EP in itself. It’s like those slam metal bands that record 20-ish minute records, and they’re labeled as full-lengths. Alas, they’ve released another masterpiece! Gallery of Bones was my introduction to the band, which occurred roughly a week ago. Other Greek bands, like Dead Congregation and Dephosphorus were at the top of my list first, but this band deserved the utmost recognition first.

I like the variation between the atmospheric songs to the traditional ones. The first two songs and last one are arguably the best material the band wrote so far. The melodies, the keyboards in the background to contemplate for the atmosphere and the crushing riffs, bass lines, and blast beats that showcase the Greek death metal scenery. Of course, you can’t forget the death growls. Atmosphere is a required feature in Greek extreme metal. As musicians, I believe they’ve improved overtime and challenged themselves further, as the music on this record sounds technical and unusual than before, despite the predictable songwriting.

Not that these songs are terrible; well other than the single Caverns of Torture which was the weakest song on the record. Among the Tombs of Absent Gods has a darker atmosphere than the rest, considering the lack of melodies. That’s where the song failed. Again, the variation is much appreciated, but this record, giving the melodies and keyboards, could’ve used a darker and melodic atmosphere. As for said single, it was kind of throwback to the band’s older material, which didn’t belong on this record. Since the tracklist contains two 4-minute songs, two 5-minute songs, and one 3-minute song, perhaps two extra minutes should’ve spent on Among the Tombs of Absent Gods, to expand more on the direction.

Blessed by Perversion earned themselves another fan! Maybe 90% is a little biased, but as I’ve already stated, I believe this record showcased the band’s improvement as musicians and songwriters and reaching for another mile, writing challenging music and implementing atmosphere. Whatever type of release the band records next, I hope it’ll sound like Remnants of Existence. And for crying out loud, if you’re going to record a full-length, please don’t make it 24 minutes! You have some amazing material here.