After listening to this debut album a couple times, I found the vocals very reminiscent of Arch Enemy’s ‘Khaos Legions’. It’s at this point I decided to read the band bio. Formed 3 years ago in São Paulo, Brazil, and going through a couple line-up changes, the band now consist of Renata Petrelli (vocals, guitar), Aline Dutchi (bass, backing vocals) and Luana Diniz (drums), all of whom have plenty of prior experience in other bands along the way. They released a 4 track EP in 2020 with their 10 track debut coming out now.

The album opens with a relaxed almost acoustic tone to the guitars as they build to become faster and more aggressive, but it’s when the drumming kicks in and is followed by the vocals that “Before the Drowning” truly comes alive. It even had a lead solo which carries it forward just as the pace mellows very slightly for the final verse.

The title track, “Way of Perdition” is perceptibly faster, with plenty of drum attack regardless of the tempo changes between verse and chorus but backs off completely during the lead making the guitar stand out even more.

There is a second guitar playing a melodic accompaniment to the main guitar riff, along with a driving bassline that helps “Into the Sun” race along with its growled vocal chant.

Unlike Kreator, it would appear that they have still have hope and while “This Pain Won’t Last” does have a gloomier, darker guitar riff with the second guitar holding long drawn-out notes to add to the foreboding, the vocals do alter from beginning to end as the liberation comes to pass.

They filmed a video clip for “Grief of Death”, where the slowish tempo of the song with its chunky guitar and boomy drum sound is filled by the deep bass, as the vocals take on a pitch that’s a touch higher to convey far more anger and frustration.

“Random Words” is one of the heaviest songs on the album, but definitely not the fastest as it focuses on an oppressive guitar riff for mood, but still has a levity to the second guitar as it slides through to its lead.

The rolling drums have an almost tribal rhythm for the intro to “Slaves of Society”, but then step up to become a straight snare beating with constant kick as the shouted vocals with their harsh edge try keep up.

Despite the title, “Rotten Soul” is a rather upbeat song with a steady drum beat and chugging guitar that is yelled over, to keep it rather no fuss but still get your head banging without you realising it’s doing so.

Maybe I was wrong about my earlier statement, but the mood of “No Hope Inside” ranges from doomy to more thrashy depending on its tempo, while the guitar riff maintains its tone through.

They wrap up the album with the fast and choppy song “The Greed”, where a wash of deafening cymbals and rapid riffs have a gorgeous undercurrent where the bassline flows and stands out in its own right to the point it becomes my main focal point.

I enjoyed the album as it is well delivered with the songs not being overly lengthy to detract from their punch.

(8/10 Marco Gaminara)

https://www.facebook.com/theDamnnationofficial

https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/way-of-perdition