Short, sharp, vicious and incendiary describes this debut effort by Emissary Of Suffering, who hail from Sweden. From what I can glean from the internet this act has been the formulation of two artists, Mattias Rasmusson and Nils Groth, both of whom have played in numerous outfits spanning a variety of genres, and that influence has a marked effect on the eight nuclear missiles contained within the album which kicks off with ‘Total Void’. What really embeds into your head on this album is the riffs which whilst primarily of the Swedeath style, there is that influence from outside, whether a chug fest that infests the opener or some straight up thrashing mayhem, but one facet that courses through the album is its unerring brutality and ferocity.

‘Rope’ has an awesome deathrash riff, hurtling you back to the gritty 80s with its drilling assault and sporadic blast sorties, which I found particularly effective throughout. The title track continues the barrage but prefers to rein in the speed initially when the slower permeating riff fuses with the drum fill runs. There is an eeriness to the tune too, grisly and incomparably gruesome that ensures the song has a sinister menacing factor. Returning to outright hyper velocity is ‘Samaritan’, the grinding maniacal approach unveiled is venomous and reeks of a grindcore ethos.

Listening to this album, your mind diverts all over the place, trying to pin point a riff here or a riff there, but in truth it’s all original stuff, the way the band has crafted their songs makes it feel like you’re listening to an album you’ve always enjoyed, like a favourite t-shirt you always like to wear as the punishing guitar work is saturated in a straight metal styling, especially on the lead breaks as more pulverising occurs with ‘Privilege’, this time wielding a cool old school death metal flavour replete with ghoulish guitar work.

‘Abbatoir’, which I assume is a Swedish spelling of this term, reminded me of Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse on their ‘Gallery Of Suicide’ conjuring intimidation from the bowels of a sewer, brimming with periodic violence making the song utterly ghastly. The album concludes with the fine ‘Cura Animarum Suprema Lex’ which might translate as ‘The Supreme Law’ as whilst I expected a track opening with a slower feel, this is obliterated by the relentless blast beat tornado that ensues. Laced with a catchy overtone via the riffing and drum work, the track is a standout for me. I really liked how they weaved that sinister atmosphere into unbridled wrath, coupled to devastating tempo shifts and copious riff changes making this debut album one that death metal fans should pick up pronto on release.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/Emissary-of-Suffering-105725718427077

https://emissaryofsuffering.bandcamp.com/album/mournful-sights