The Apocalypse of Evil

An online definition I found of a hierophant (Ancient Greek: ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The Apocalypse of Evil EP could be the aural equivalent of our hierophant and their descent beyond the veil of the mundane world to the arcane mysteries that only the chosen few can witness and harness. I know, it's a theme done by a million metal bands and one that a lot of metallers were raised on. Though the usual otherworldly spectral theme has been done to death in metal, especially in the black and death sub genres, I'll argue that Hierophant's Descent have approached this theme convincingly and have created a creepy occult drenched EP, in the old timeless vein.

After a sorrowful dank intro we attend the foreboding ceremony greeted by timpani like synths and hollow snare sounds. The EP displays all the fare associated with that glorious era of 90's Hellenic black metal such as palm muted tremolo riffs, heavy metal influenced mid paced grooves, short decently played leads, cheesy choral synths, fast drum parts (that resemble more of a pacey stomp than the blastbeats of their Scandinavian counterparts). The bass seems to be tracked tightly to guitar riffs throughout, which gives those riffs added power.

I read a review elsewhere that the vocals could have been performed better. To me those lethargic, ominous, multiple tracked vocals guide you through the EP perfectly and they especially suit, the lumbering doomy parts of the songs. At times the echo affected vocals appear high in the mix and strong Greek accents appear in the spoken word parts.

The production comes with each instrument being audible, though you can hear that the drums were recorded separately to the rest of the mix. The same natural sounding Drums with a hollow snare and a punchy double bass are to be heard below the guitars and vocals in the mix. A generous injection of slowly played synths punctuate and enhance many of the riffs, adding to the otherworldly essence of the release.

Though The Apocalypse of Evil goes from a dirge to a surge in a melodic manner that's natural to the other 90's Hellenic bands, this release descends down a more decrepit, cobweb strewn doom direction than their forebears and contemporaries. Mystifier's legendary Göetia album threads a similar path with this EP, as they both share those slow eerie synths for a start. Check out the track An Elizabethan Devil Worshipper's Prayer Book for example. Check out Varathron's Tressrising of Nyarlathotep also.