A first listen to this band for me, though it would appear that the Swedish death metal crew have been about since 2006, with this being their third full length album. It would also appear that the lads have had some recent personnel changes, but with no former frame of reference I’m afraid I can’t really tell what that means in terms of any sound changes.
I can say that Eschaton is really addictive, filthy and groovy piece of high quality old-school inspired death metal. In terms of overall feel, this has all the best elements of bands like Evocation in terms of overall sound, but with the kind of sickening chug and swagger that prime Ribsreader possesses. Yes, there is plenty of melody to be found here (take a bow, “Reform or Die”), but we’re talking rather more in the vein of Dismember than we are Dragonforce.
Of course, the guitars are tuned way down, and have that lovely gravelly rasp to them, with the drums and bass being particularly effective in being a well-oiled wrecking crew here. Vocally, this is a completely decipherable yet threatening death-growl in the vein of say Dave Ingram. As far as I can tell, there’s a loose theme to the songs, with titles like, “Heretic Trails”, “The Grand Inquisitor” and “Sacred and Secular”. They’ve got such a knack for a killer riff, that if there is any justice in the world, this release should see them catapulted to the same kind of level as fellow Swedes Entrails. “The Double Edge Sword”, for instance, the third track on the album, has the kind of muscle-bound strut that the classics of the early 90’s had – the kind of tune to smash into you at the bar and then offer you outside if you dare to complain. It’s a bully of a track. This isn’t a one-off; similar memorable tunes can be found among this nine tracker.
So sure, there are a lot of bands who meddle with the old school Swedish death metal sound, but there is a little more invention and aplomb here than most. Not every song is going to be making your album of the year list, but there’s plenty of variety here. Whether it be the raging opener of “To Poison Everything”, or the downright sinister crawling stomp of “Heretic Trails” with its writhing bass work, there’s plenty of evidence of invention and creativity.
The best thing so is that this is so damn addictive. I’ve had it in the car now for about three weeks, and albeit I have a lot of other albums asking for my attention at the moment, I’ve regularly been coming back to this. Why? It has that something. It’s hard to define, but there are great, well-written tunes here that crawl deep inside the space between your ears and create a dopamine-releasing nest.
It’d be great to try and catch these lads live now that the dreaded Covid appears to be finally loosening its grip. Do as a favour chaps – come to the UK?
(9/10 Chris Davison)
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