A
pleasant surprise this new album from this Czech band. You hear the 20 years of
experience and the production of Waldemar Sorychta (Tiamat, Moonspell, Grip Inc.
a.o.) is heavy and great sounding. I can understand that Mighty Music has picked
this band up, but do they add a lot to the death metal scene? Their style sure
is an interesting mix of death metal in the vein of Sinister and Vader, with
some thrash elements, some melodeath and a certain groove.
Some parts make me think of Asphyx and the devastating heavy riffs remind me of
Hail of Bullets also. One of the things I use by judging a new album is the
question: Is this an album I will listen to again after some time, or will it be
put on a shelf to be finally eaten by rats and mice when I'm old and senile? 'At
the Gates Of Nihilism' is an album that falls a bit in between. At the moment I
listen to it with a lot of pleasure, because of the rather strong songs, the
heavy riffs and the aggressive grunts of Jiri Krs and not particularly because
of the originality, but just because it sounds great. In ancient times when I
only could buy one album a month, this could certainly be one I would purchase,
but with so many albums and great releases every month.... I'm not really sure.
One
thing is certain, they are my favorite Czech band and I will listen to this
album a few times more next week. If you are into some bands I mentioned above,
you have to listen to (and buy) Pandemia, because they do deliver and the cover
of the French band Loudblast is a nice extra treat.
