Album Type :
Full Length
Date Released
: 26/12/2012
Label : Self-Release
Against The Storm, tracklisting :
1).
Tortured with Hate 03:45
2).
Contempt 04:16
3).
Sacrifice of Existence 04:08
4). At
War 03:05
5).
Illusions of a Mirage 04:23
6).
Atrocities 04:00
7).
Hear Them 03:23
8). Kathairien
04:02
9).
Disbelief 04:41
Bio :
"Against
the Storm" the debut album of Portugal's Annihilation was originally
released in 2011 on Casket records. The band is now releasing the album
digitally on Bandcamp to build anticipation for their next album "The
Undivided Wholeness Of All Things", which is due to be released in the
summer of 2014.
The Band
Fabio
Da Silva | Vocals, Guitars
Nuno Costa | Guitars
Diogo Silva | Bass
Ita dos Santos | Drums
Nuno Costa | Guitars
Diogo Silva | Bass
Ita dos Santos | Drums
Review :
Annihilation
hail from Portugal. It appears from the very brief entry on the Encyclopaedia
Metallum that this record was first released in 2011. This is a quality slab of brutal death with a
cool production and crystal clear sounds.“Tortured with Hate” blasts as it
means to go on with precise beats and guitars. Double tracked vocals are a nice
touch.
“Contempt”
is just as speedy with a nice line in tempo shifting. The Morbid Angel-alike
“Sacrifice of Existence” uses fast bass drums, and riffing with some slow
tempos then uses blasts and thrash beats too- the whole band playing very
cohesively, it has to be said. Death metal is difficult to play, but if you are
technically competent it is easy to churn out boring rubbish. Thankfully
Annihilation circumnavigates this pitfall by way of ringing the changes in each
track and coming up with good riffs. “At War” is a prime example of this- yes
it is brutal and nothing new, per se, but it also has something to it; good
changes, great vocals and the stellar production all combine.
“Illusions of
A Mirage” has a nicely thrashy start, followed by a more death metal flavour to
the riffing keeping with the same tempos- good stuff. Naturally, the track does
have the on-beat blasts in places, but once again it is the variety that lifts
the track and by extension the record as a whole. Nice closed hi hat work is
included here; a novelty in death metal, it has to be said and again
illustrates the band doing things a little differently.
“Atrocities”
starts slow and uses some rather angular riffing to get its point across. The
subject and title are pure death metal with the vibe harking back to the early
90's; most welcome in my view.
“Hear Them”
again recalled Morbid Angel a little for me- not a bad thing- and makes good
use of the twin guitar format. Excellent riff around the two minute mark, as
well.
“Kathairien”
has a rather stylish opening with a kind of helical riff used before upping the
tempo and then running through the gears. “Disbelief” uses a lengthy riff over
short vocal stabs as it twists and turns. At just over 35 minutes, the album is
the perfect length- there can be too much of a good thing where death metal is
concerned and the nine tracks are of a consistently high quality and good
duration. An engaging and high quality death metal release that will stand out
the moment you stick the record on.
Words by : Richard Maw