ALBUM REVIEW: Depravation, “III:Odor Mortis”

By: Thomas Gonzales

Album Type: Full Length 

Date Released: 03/04/2020

Label: Lifeforce Records 

“III:Odor Mortis” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Casting Fear

2). Peitschenhieb

3). Misery

4). Beug Dich

5). Sickness

6). Amboss

7). Arrival

8). The Endless Night

9). Nothingness

The Review: 

Münster, Germany extreme music “DIY-ers” Depravation join metal label Lifeforce Records for the release of their 3^rd full album, “III:Odor Mortis”. Formed in 2011 Depravation are veterans of over 300 concerts across Europe, and multiple split collaborations spanning the musical stylings of Hardcore to Death Metal. They have sown success in the underground scene by sheer force of will, and the sweat from their collective brow; this relentless pursuit of aggressive song crafting, are translated into what may be their most brutal album to date. 

Free from the constraints of traditional Hardcore Punk and Crust, the framework for their latest release leans heavily on their Blackened Death influences. Full of aggressive blast beats, shrieking screams, and shredding riffs, “Odor Mortis” is a pulse pounding exercise in heavy music composition.  Amidst this slurry of genres, there are elements of Doom Metal and Grindcore, creating a sludgy and noxious soniscape, like moshing your way through a frozen field of viscera.  It is cold, brutal, and nasty.

It’s not all shredding riffs and pounding rhythms however, there are many “striking grooves and eerie melodies” throughout, which help to move the listener along a musical path. With “Sickness”, Depravation slow things down for a (mostly) instrumental track, accented only by a haunting denouncement of hatred spreading like a virus, choking out the light. The interlude is the only real break throughout the album, and it does a great job of setting off the final act. Concluding with pummeling drums, and mournfully distorted guitar parts, it gives way to probably the Blackest song on the record, “Amboss”. “Sickness” really feels like a transitional piece, as the latter part of the album is Blacker and Doom-ier than the more Hardcore start. It’s here that things seem to shift focus with the themes of the album.  “Nothingness” closes things out a somber Doom piece embracing the reality that there is no purpose, “nothingness unfolds”. It is bleak, and such a fantastic way to wind things down after taking the listener on such a tumultuous journey.

“I: Praedictvm EP” (2012) & “II: Maledictvm” (2013) are almost a decade in the past, and when you listen to them now, you can hear all the pieces coming together. The elements have carried through each project, and Depravation has acquired various techniques from their collaborators, and blended them into the band you hear today. Touring with Hardcore and Black Metal groups alike, has clearly influenced their song writing and helped them to create something all their own. Pick up “III: Odor Mortis” today from Lifeforce Records, and while you’re at, blast your way through their previous works.

“III: Odor Mortis” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: On Thorns I Lay, "Threnos"

By: Thomas Gonzales

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/02/2020

Label: Lifeforce Records

“Threnos” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Song of Sirens

2). Ouranio Deos

3). Cosmic Silence

4). Erynies

5). Misos

6). Threnos

7). Odysseia

The Review:

Self-proclaimed "Pure Depressive Metal" pioneers On Thorns I Lay return once again, following up 2018's "Aegean Sorrow" with their latest album, "Threnos".

Their ninth studio release features a familiar blend of flourishing string instrumentals, coral vocals, and piano interludes. On Thorns I Lay continues their journey of experimentation and introspection, refining techniques they've evolved since their inception in 1992.

Like many of the band's peers who influenced their style, On Thorns I Lay have undergone stylist changes, diversifying the original sound found on their debut album "Sound of Beautiful Experience" in 1995. Following a similar pattern of growth, On Thorns I Lay evolved with the genre; transitioning through extreme metal subgenres like Death/Doom, Melodic Death Metal, and even Blackened Doom Metal, bringing it all forward into their latest projects.

While Veterans of the industry, many listeners are only now discovering this band, and it's due in part to the sheer quality of their last few releases; "Threnos" is no exception. Reminiscent of the Peaceville Three, there is a diverse canvas of sound present in their music, adding a Hard Rock Goth approach to their brand of Metal, while sowing a thread of melodic sensibilities throughout each track. More importantly, their musicianship continues to improve, offering not only a high-quality production, but intuitive composition as well.

Riffage on the song "Misos" brings the hard rock element into the spotlight with catchy rhythms and hooks; a refreshing nuance in what is generally a very droning genre. Title track "Thenos" on the other hand, portrays a more Death Metal sensibility, focusing on throaty growls and pounding rhythm sections, that give way to the melodic nature seen throughout other songs on the album. Even though it starts off strong, it's the latter part of the release that really shines. Each track is tailored to create a sensation of grandeur, sweeping the listener away in the turbulent roil, before it crashes into the finale of weeping guitar solos, and acoustic interludes of "Oddysseia". 

On Thorns I Lay have an extensive history, but thankfully, now is absolutely the best time to get familiar with their works. "Aegean Sorrow" found itself on many Year End Lists in 2018, and with this being the most refined their music has been yet, it isn't a far stretch to think "Threnos" may see similar success. Pick-up "Threnos" on Lifeforce Records today.

“Threnos” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Ancst, "Ghosts of the Timeless Void"

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/03/2018

Label: Lifeforce Records

Ancst have evolved, seemingly effortlessly, certainly gracefully, and sound more like themselves than ever - whatever inner telos they have been moving towards has been realized in this beautiful album

“Ghosts of the Timeless Void” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Dying Embers
2). Shackles of Decency
3). Concrete Veins
4). Revelation of Deformity
5). Unmasking the Imposters
6). Of Gallows and Pyres
7). Quicksand
8). Republic of Hatred
9). Dysthymia
10). Sanctity
11). Self-Portrait

The Review:

Lex transitum per ignem, in honorem Molechi prohibens

Pure Fucking Hate. As album opening phrases go, this quote from 2017's “Life” is poignant, jarring, and certainly germane to the themes raised throughout Ancst's second full-length album, “Ghosts of the Timeless Void”. Where the film discusses the return of life-form responsible for an extinction avalanche on Martian soil, one cannot help but think that Ancst's object of antipathy may be more earthbound. And while we may speak of dying embers and pyres here, the fires of injustice-fueled rage are an abiding conflagration across the album - there are no coals cooling in the furnace of Ancst's anger, and the insatiable Moloch of capitalism continues to consume endless sacrifices.

The sound that this side of Ancst has been evolving towards, to my mind, first manifested on track two of the 2013 EP, “The Humane Condition”, which was partnered by the first release of their first ambient/drone work, “Lamenting a Dying World”. That track, “Entropie”, captures a sound that eloquently defines Ancst: polished but savage, graceful, commit and unrelenting. And they have been prolific: despite this being only their second full-length, 2017 saw the release of the superb “Furnace” EP as well as two top-notch splits, one with King Apathy, one with Depravation. This is not to ignore 2016's brilliant “Stormcaster”, the most fulsome interlocution of the soundscapes first explored in “Lamenting…”. Across the course of these releases, Ancst have entered the elite pantheon of 'do no wrong' bands for me: I always eagerly anticipate new music from them, no matter what the sonic angle. “Ghosts of the Timeless Void” is no exception.

It's interesting to compare LP openers here: “Moloch” is one of the most explosive album introits that I have ever heard - instantaneous teeth-kicking power unleashed from go. “Dying Embers” starts off considerably more restrained by comparison, even slow by Ancst's punishing pace-standards - until about the 1:00 mark - when everything explodes in dynamic fury. It almost feels like an inversion of the earlier structure in certain ways. This more thoughtful approach allows Ancst to marry the melodic, riff-dense elements of their approach to some mindful sophistication in terms of metrical and rhythmical variety. But it is never heavy-handed, never overly obvious, and at no point loses the plot of what makes Ancst a standout band that places them high in the melodic crust mythos. Poignant exemplars of this maturation are found throughout the album: in the opening riffs of “Quicksand”, in the death-inflected “Unmasking the Imposters”, in the epic “Republic of Hatred”, in the classic blackened tremolo work of “Sanctity”. “Dysthymia”, is the closest I have heard Ancst to creating what almost sounds like post-black/blackgaze ballad. Meaningless subgenre references aside, what I am trying to emphasize is that Ancst have evolved, seemingly effortlessly, certainly gracefully, and sound more like themselves than ever - whatever inner telos they have been moving towards has been realized in this beautiful album. Listen to it from start to finish and love it. I know I did.

“Ghosts of the Timeless Void” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook