Entrapment is a one-man death metal project led by Michel Jonkers from Groningen in the Netherlands. ‘The Obscurity Within…’ is the debut album from this entity of his, and judging by the logo and fantastically painted artwork, everything here screams “early 90s!” Who the cover has been produced by, I do not know. What can be said is that it sets up the music in very stylish and promising fashion, bringing to mind classic imagery and classic albums from that period. Whether the music lives up to this intriguing start, only ears will tell…
‘Catatonic Rites’ ushers in the album with creepy violin and piano, giving little indication as to where we’re headed. But then, by erupting into an Autopsy-like explosion of derangement, Entrapment very quickly and succinctly lays its cards on the table with battering drum patterns, Reifert styled vocal delivery, and brain-damaged solos. In the guitar tone, there is also a great amount of early Swedish death metal, meaning that what we have is one volatile combination. The next track, ‘Shallow Breath’, initially foregoes the unrestrained lunacy of the opener with a morbidly slow start before this time crashing out like something from Entombed’s debut. By this stage, it’s fair to say that the Swedish influence also permeates the vocals and music as much as Autopsy; combining a slightly drier European rasp with crusty punk-like rhythms. On at least one occasion, I’m sure there is also a distinctly Dutch twang to the vocals, which makes it all the more cool. So in a nutshell: part Autopsy; part Nihilist (and their offshoots).
It goes without saying that this is vicious stuff. Of particular note are the merciless riffs and solos which merge maniacally within each unstoppable arrangement. ‘Infernal Blasphemies’ is a perfect example of this aspect. Clattering out at full speed, a soaring, subtly placed wail appears over-top to add the kind of touch which elevates very good death metal; then, when it’s actually solo time, all hell breaks loose within the main body of the track. Even when the pace does slow up though – as in ‘The Obscurity Within…’ – far from serving as relief, it acts as the complete opposite; simply heightening the misery as you sit there trembling in your soiled underpants. Along with agonising sections of despair, numerous death breath “RAAAARRRRR”s are emitted throughout to underline the hopeless wretchedness of our narrator’s psychology. Perhaps the best part of the album comes right at the very end though, in ‘Soul Entrapment’. The section closing out both the track and the record is 100% pure, atmospheric, crushing death metal.
Based on aspects such as this, it’s almost impossible to believe that there is only one person in this project. Unlike some similar death metal “one-man-bands”, Michel Jonker’s ability to play all of the instruments AND write great music is really impressive. In fact, he proves here that he’s more capable than some bands. It isn’t original but inspired as it is by some of the rawest sounding artists of all time, ‘The Obscurity Within…’ does absolutely destroy.
(9/10 Jamie Wilson)
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