Setherial
Ekpyrosis
Rating
Style: Blackened Death Metal / Swedish Black (see text)
Release date: June 18th 2010
 

The first five or six times I played Ekpyrosis it really did not impress me at all. That was two weeks ago. As I am writing this, it has been playing on "repeat" for a couple of hours, and I still cannot sit still!

First it seemed repetitive and dull, but suddenly this album became brilliant! It starts off with a punch in the face - the brutal song "A World in Hell" - and travels through an entire genre-catalogue of black and death metal. On the way musical tribute is paid to defining bands like Belphegor ("Thoughts of Life They Wither") and early Dimmu Borgir ("The Devouring Eye"), and fellow Swedes like Marduk and Dark Funeral (Enemy of Creation). One could almost consider calling this fast-paced merciless black variant "Swedish Metal"! A blood red cocktail of traditional and modern metal, with a high degree of technical finesse.

The vocals, delivered by Infaustus, is very impressive and versatile, and generally the band is as tight as a nun. I did not think about all this when I first heard the album. It grew on me, slowly and steadily, like a benign tumor. Ekpyrosis is definately worth the effort!


Tracklist

01: A World in Hell
02: Ekpyrosis
03: The Mournful Sunset of the Forsaken
04: The Devouring Eye
05: Subsequent Emissions from a Frozen Galaxy
06: Thoughts of Life They Wither
07: Celestial Remains of the Cosmic Creation

08: Enemy of Creation

Label: Regain Records
Distribution: Target (Denmark)
Reviewed by: Martin Schjönning
Date: June 7th 2010
Website: Setherial @ MySpace