Eve of Infliction

Chances are you have not yet heard about Wrathrone as these Finnish death metal enthusiasts have been flying under the radar since having been formed in 2008. Their second full length “Reflections of Torment” has been a nasty little gem so I was more than happy when I saw that they have just released a new album. “Eve of Infliction” is the title and you should not expect anything else than pure and filthy death metal goodness, played with a lot of energy and passion for the genre. These lads have set their hearts on the glory past and their goal is to re-produce some of the magic which has got so many of us into this sub-genre without offering just another bland copy.

Wrathrone may owe large, obvious amounts of everything to a cadre of grandfatherly death metal luminaries, but they are not ashamed to carry their influences for everyone to see. This is classic death metal, plain and simple, played deep within the early to mid 90s realm without straying too far off what has worked back then. While doing so they have a few own tricks up their sleeves, with layered guitars and leads thrown in within each of the eight songs. There is an impressive stamina in place here, with fluid fills and machine-like double bass work shining throughout the whole album. So basically you know what you’re getting here, but it’s because of that simple fustiness that you might have a smile on your face before even having hit the play button.

Songs like “Darkness Concealing Chaos” grind at a nice melodic pace, where the riffs are a bloody, convulsing fleshy avalanche of consistency and the rhythm drives along in groovy fashion. There is an enhanced focus on melodic elements compared to their prior stuff, working as nice contrast to the rotten riff and blast attacks. There are some punkish tendencies within the song structures, underlining the direct approach and the compact songwriting. There is no really dull moment, and while it could be argued that you will notice a certain level of monotony after a while Wrathrone have so many slick riffs to throw at the listener that this won’t matter. The icing on the cake are the vocals by Matti Vehmas who roars like an ancient demon. His deep and cavernous delivery is monstrous and among the best I have heard within the past months.

“Eve of Infliction” comes with a natural sound, with that warm analog feeling to everything. There's still clarity to the instruments, but it keeps the rawness that I think that death metal needs. Compared to the predecessor this album might come with a rawer and slightly less polished sound, so depending on personal preferences that might be a positive thing or not. There are some bands making quite some waves these days with their approach to old school death metal and it would be fair if Wrathrone got a small piece of the hype pie. As long as you have a soft spot for honest and pure death metal I cannot recommend this album highly enough.