Monday 9 July 2012

Erevos - Descensus Ad Inferos


Erevos are a ten legged melodic death/black metal band from Thessaloniki, Greece. They released Descensus An Inferos via Orkestral Promenade Productions in September last year. It even mixed by death metal master extraordinaire, Dan Swano.

Tracklist:-

1. Adou Katavasis
2. The Omnipotence of The Judges
3. Kires
4. Those Who Decide About Fate
5. Under The Wings of Thanatos
6. Possessed by The Moon (of the underworld)
7. Erinyes
8. Kerveros
9. Grotesque Blasphemy (Slaughter pt.1)
10. Adou Anavasis (Outro)

Adou Katavasis starts with some very symphonic instrumental music, melodic guitars and piano. The vocals of Growler though are cold and menacing. The drums are also furious, and when the pace changes they deal with it well. The music has a very natural sound to it and Erevos are obviously very musically talented and don't bludgeon you with pure, stark brutality, instead allowing melody to seep into the music and give a warm feel. The music reminds me of output by bands like Emperor and Dark Tranquillity.

The Omnipotence of The Judges speeds along at a fairly quick pace, not letting up and the riffs sound subtly melodic, with Middle Eastern influences. The vocals are a mix of the usual black metal growls, but they also throw some deeper, more hellish growls in for good measure. There's even a wicked black metal solo towards the end of the song, which brings a bit of rock n roll to their sound.

Kires underlines the quality of the production. All elements sound clear and pronounced, while still sounding authentic in their delivery. The symphonic melody at times does sound very majestic, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the music. Erevos show that it can be done right!

The riff at the start of Those Who Decide About Fate is low and almost muted and alongside the initial deep growls, makes for a grim atmosphere (in the best possible way of course). The rhythms and musical structures evident do show Erevos's intelligence, as they are interesting and don't come across as formulaic. Throughout the whole song, the double bass just bludgeons on, leaving nothing standing in its path!

Under The Wings Of Thanatos spells the mid way point in Descensus Ad Inferos, with some choral style melodies and epic riffs. It's worth noting that considering Erevos's chosen genre, they don't overplay things. A lot of their peers do try to paint a picture with overly long songs, but Erevos don't over complicate their music and cram enough ideas into their song writing to make it interesting and different.

Possessed By The Moon (of the underworld) is one of the most evil sounding songs on this full length. Again the mixture of haunting choral melodies in the background and deathly low vocals conspire to set you on edge. Again the instruments also play their part with the sinister symphony played out by the guitar and the battering of the rhythm section.

Erinyes begins with a folk metal inspired riff, which sounds really cool and could be a nod to Erevos's homeland. I like that kind of melody in a song, especially when it sounds like the band are marching marauding ancient troops of to war! The introspective mid-section of Erinyes is a real surprise too, adding more light to the overall dark atmosphere created by Descensus Ad Inferos. This is probably my favourite song on the album.

Kerveros starts with brutal chuggy riffs and pinch harmonics, which show that Erevos are not afraid to play with influences from other genres in the metal stratosphere. Again this is one of the most brutal songs on the album, but not due to out and out speed but due to the way it's put together. The textures, the sparing use of the kick drum and the ability to know when to slow down all contribute to an excellent song.

Penultimate song; Grotesque Blasphemy (Slaughter Pt.1) is initially full of razor riffage and blasting drums, before being interjected with some calming orchestral music. This is another example of the effect that Erevos are looking to achieve on this album.

Last song Adou Anavasis is an outro. It features traditional instruments and sporadic piano to start and then orchestral music segues in. It brings a quiet and subdued end to the record, even with one dramatic passage that wakes you up. It's very much in the vein of free form jazz for the most part, and actually sounds really cool.

It rounds out a very accomplished album by a band who are not afraid to push boundaries of their genre and embrace outside influenced. It really surprised me and if you get the chance, make sure you pick up a copy, as it could be one of the extreme metal albums of the year, in my opinion!

You can listen to second track, The Omnipotence of The Judges below:-



If you want a copy of this record, you'll need to to head over to the Myspace page of Orkestral Promenade Productions at http://www.myspace.com/orkestralpromenadeproductions.

You can also visit Erevos either at their own website at http://www.erevosblack.gr/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erevos.

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