Verdict of Posterity

This CD was one of the bargains that Scarlet Records offered for awhile, bringing down the prices of their albums. Actually, I couldn’t have paid this CD more than this because of its musical content that is not exactly what I consider “good music”. I was pushed to buy it thanks to a review on a mag and it was a kick on the teeth and not in a good way.

The review compared this album or, better, this music, to the one by old Dissection and I cannot see the point in this affirmation. I mean, how could you compare this little, chaotic album to the ones by mighty Dissection? I really cannot understand.
What really bother me in this album are the vocals and the drums sound. The first ones are more or less the one you could find in Wolf’s Lair Abyss by Mayhem: a mess of childish, brutal but completely flat, excessive shrieks. The good things come with the growl parts where the obscurity arises and the atmosphere is surely more morbid.

Talking about the drums, here we have again nothing so save. Try to imagine a faster form of up tempo with the fast alternation of the bass drum and the snare in a hyper triggered sound. This is the classic modern plastic sound and it almost doesn’t change from the beginning till the end. The passages on the drums are almost inaudible and absent. There’s one style only and that’s it. These two elements (vocals and drums) easily bring down the mark to an almost insufficiency.

Anyway, there is a good thing: the guitars. The distortion is not exactly what I like but they add obscurity and coldness to the sound. Their distortion is like a chainsaw and also this thing cannot be compared to Dissection, but the coldness of their work on “Dominant Nature” is remarkable, along with the long, strange solos on the following “Lost Regrets”. Unfortunately, the power of the guitars and their sound can be heard well only during the parts where the vocals are absent because they ruin everything.

“Wasted Source” has a grotesque and almost dramatic beginning with the perfect blend of the lead lines and the furious speed restarts. Here the band is very powerful and quite strong. The good thing is that, being from Sweden, they didn’t forget the roots of death metal and the rotten guitars sound is here to show it. “Worship This” is more modern for the more melodic guitars lines that remind a bit Soilwork, but those melodies are a bit hidden to privilege the classic, raw assault.

Well, at the end the difficult thing comes with the mark. As I said before, the drums and the vocals are not sufficient at all but the guitars can add something more to a strange, obscure album. They are goodish and quite cold but the production doesn’t help. What really pisses me off is that Scarlet Rec. chose this band to product when there are hundreds of more valid bands in Italy. Without forgetting those which are on the scene since the early days and are still “starving” musically because they have not a contract. Unbelievable. I’ve never heard such problems in Sweden.

Anyway, I don’t recommend this album to anyone. Just give it a try if you come across it but listen to it before buying. It’s better. It depends on the tastes.