Back in 2017 I covered this French band’s debut album called ‘Century Of Decline’ and was impressed with its take on death metal where it incorporated a few other stylings to keep you on your toes, as only French extreme metal bands seem to do. Six years later and the band gives us their follow up which more or less acts as a continuation of the debut though the experimentalism seems to have been reined in somewhat in favour of a more traditional old school approach. Adding to that is the news that the bands drummer is no longer with the band even though Ethan Ducrocq did play on this new release. I don’t have any more information than that except to add that the band has also replaced guitarist Guitch with Jérôme Normand.

‘Unholy Sacrificial Eucharist’ kicks the album off where a mournful intro sequence leads into a modernised, yet old style, death metal assault. Noticeably the drum sound on the album is particularly thudding which I really liked, adding to the overall impact of the album considerably as the opener veers from resounding guttural vocal bellows to more hostile harsh tones. There is a freneticism too, a sort of urgency that permeates the release that makes the intensity that bit more full on as ‘Dilaceratio Corporis’ follows the opener with a shift towards a denser approach that virtually extinguishes any life remaining the in the treble area of the sound. Surprisingly it works extremely well as their use of sublime lead work doesn’t go unnoticed either.

Increasing the accessibility is ‘Fire In The Sky’ which sees the vocals adopt a demonic tone within the brutally heavy onslaught the song subjects you to, replete with melody and that ear catching lead work, though less so here. Maintaining the density is ‘The Dark, The Fall And The Oblivion’ which uses a cool dramatic riffing base surrounding a slightly slower tempo, though still monumentally heavy. Again the lead work catches your attention as the vocal barbarism adds a layer of terror to the already palpable gruesomeness as the song even swings towards a melodic death foundation in snippets.

Catching my attention hugely is ‘Sulphur Revenge’, and not just because I love metal songs with chemicals in their names, it is also down to the songs rancidity and utter bulldozing that cranks up the brutality markedly. The songs intermittent blast phases are formidable as the song is stacked out with riff changes and tempo deviations and links nicely with ‘I Curse You All’ that follows. The last two tunes are longer as ‘I Curse You All’ situates itself initially within a doom-death shroud but laced with deluges of drum fill. What really caught my ear with this tune was the exceptional riff break after a few minutes as the demonic vocal barks really make the song that bit more extreme. Closing the album is the near seven minutes of ‘Lunar Blood Obsession’ and where you would expect the song to begin in a calmer more sedate manner it absolutely bludgeons you to a pulp. The frenetic styling I mentioned earlier resurfaces alongside some guitar work that reminded me of latter era Death material, you’ll know what I mean when you hear the song for sure. The songs continually evolving melodies and brutality craft an epic quality as the song uses blasts effectively for emphasis but also subjects you to some mind bending guitar riffage and lead work that this album does so well.

A fine sophomore from Frakasm one that should get the band’s name on death metal fans tongues and one that I hope marks a restart for the band with more releases to come without the half decade wait between releases.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

https://www.facebook.com/Frakasm

https://greatdanerecords.bandcamp.com/album/and-so-the-blood-was-shed