Carnage of Soul

90's death metal bands with demo tapes and/or small independent releases are a hit or miss, some are fantastic, while others are overlooked and forgotten for a good reason. However, one of the best of my recent finds definitely are a hit! This is Damnation Call, for a Swiss 3-piece the band surely know how to make things sound as evil as shit while still retaining the old school 80s - 90s sound.

Guitars are buzzy, but not so buzzy to the point of inaudibility or sounding such as a poor guitar tone or production job. With that said, make no exception that the production on this EP is fantastic for what it is. Bass is audible and not so overly loud that is overpowers the guitar riffs, it just gently chimes in over certain sections without having to feel unnecessarily loud. I love albums where you can hear the bass player, and I love it even more when the instrument is listenable yet still retains its role as a background instrument, so the bass guitar is without the a doubt my favorite thing on this recording. Damnation Call did something right that many bands even today still do wrong.

The vocals are another good highlight, this guy demonstrates a praise-worthy Chuck Schuldiner impression while still sounding so evil and sinister at the same time. It's a weird thought, but he reminds me of sort of a hybrid of Schuldiner combined with one of the several thousand vocalists that Cryptopsy employed. The vocals hover slightly above the throaty growl register and more in a almost mid-ranged tone.

As for cons, there's some but the most notable one is that I'm not a big fan of the drums on this release. I never really enjoyed drummers whose kicks aren't so audible but rather just the the reverb around the instrument is all that really cuts through the mix. Not a big problem, but I still prefer a little more a solid and punchy drum sound in all death metal. Despite that, I definitely recommend this EP to anyone who is a OSDM fiend. Good riffs, good vocals and some neat ideas that I never heard before in most other bands at the time. There's even track 3 which is this nice little interlude which comprises keyboards and guitars before getting straight back into the action on track 4.

If you like your old school death raw, but professionally produced, look no further than this side of Switzerland.