After releasing ‘Beyond the Pale’ in 2010 and ‘The Infernal Tremor’ in 2015, this German quintet now have their third album hitting the shelves, as it were.

“Niom: 004d004f0049004e” opens the album with a couple weird shaker sounds that flitter from left to right before Philipp Bischoff’s roar cuts them off when “Goddess of Machines” starts with the short choppy guitar riffs by Lutz Gudehus and Lutz Neemann as David Hambach adds sci-fi electronic sounds into the mix. The slow but melodically played lead works really well over the heavier guitar sounds.

Title track “Invader from Beyond” opens with Oppenheimer’s famous quote followed closely by some very sharp snare snapping by Lucas Katzmann beats out a steady tattoo interspersed with plenty of rolls and triplets on the kick drums.

They have released a lyric video for “Mark of Cain” and it’s worth watching to get a great 3D effect of Juanjo Castellano’s album cover in motion. Along with a slight picking up of the pace they add more sound effects to go with the varied guitar riffs keeping the definite sci-fi feel in focus.

“The Observer” is a bit more mid-paced, but that may be more the vocals being slower and the long drawn out growls give it a slower feel that the chuggy guitar riffs do.

I really enjoy the way the guitars build up then mellow down on “The Key to Your Voice” as the synth soundscape works behind them to eerie effect.

“Rendezvous with Destiny” is excerpts of Ronnie Raygun’s speech with some background sounds that fade out completely before “All Comes to Its End” begins with some rapid drum rolls and an interesting guitar riff that is bolstered by a subtle synth in the background, keeping pace with the slower drawn out vocals.

The quick sharp drum battery has Kim-Patrick Friedrichs’s bass popping on the root notes of “Back from Apathy”, but it’s the fluid leads that really shine on the song as the pace alters during for each verse and chorus.

Never losing any melody but still remaining exceedingly heavy “The Creator’s Fall” even succumbs to some blast beats as it transitions between some differently paced riffs.

The final track “Embraced by Infinity” has a nice bouncy rhythm that gets it going, but around the midpoint it tapers off completely to become a gentle tapping on the drums accompanied by the guitars before it suddenly returns to its heavier glory filled with electronic notes.

Perhaps what I enjoyed the most about this album is the varied grooves interspersed with melodic guitars to give the heavier guitars something interesting to bounce off.

(8/10  Marco Gaminara)

https://www.facebook.com/damnationdefaced

https://damnationdefaced1.bandcamp.com