Ectoplasma – Cavern of Foul Unbeings

From the onset, Greece’s Ectoplasma make it immediately clear what sort of death metal record you’re getting. The colourful, yet cryptic artwork, combined with an atmospheric intro and depraved song titles indicate death metal of the purest origins. “Cavern of Foul Unbeings” will take you immediately back to the early 1990s, recalling any number of classic bands. Despite this, the band ignores more obvious homages to the Floridian and New York scenes, instead opting to take a variety of influences to create a sickening cacophony.

It should be no surprise that “Cavern of Foul Unbeings” is often incredibly successful at recreating the cavernous sound that plenty of death metal utilizes. The opening to “Mortified and Despised” is a crushing experience, but the band quickly takes a turn for more upbeat riffs in the verse. Ectoplasma’s ability to change focus several times within each song helps to retain interest for the lengthy 53-minute runtime of this record. If you’re starting to feel sick of a doomier section, than something thrashier will quickly erupt. But then the band can instantly move to a more traditional tremolo-picking riff. One reason the band excels at so many sounds is their infrequent use of blastbeats; they certainly come up once in a while on the record, but again, it’s when you’re not necessarily expecting it, so they become a welcome addition to the music. Even the risky approach of incorporating samples is executed to perfection in a couple of instances. 

Most of the tracks are pretty similar in the amount of diversity they offer, so few of them tend to stand out. Often times, it is more individual sections that are the highlights. “Seized In Cimmerian Darkness”, for example, has one of the most potent riffs on this album, while “Reanimated in Trioxin” offers the catchiest growling. Some of the later songs tend to drag, moreso due to listener fatigue than an actual decline in quality. Things pick up with the cover of Unleashed’s “The Immortal Ones”, a band that Ectoplasma strongly resembles at times. All in all, it makes for an exciting finish to an above average death metal record. While “Cavern of Foul Unbeings” might not be as classic as some of its influences, it is a worthy contender in today’s death metal scene!

Be sure to check out and like Ectoplasma on Facebook!

Highlights

"Seized In Cimmerian Darkness"

"Reanimated in Trioxin"

"The Immortals"

Final Rating

4.3/5 or 86%.

Blood Oath – The Line Between

Blood Oath is a relatively newer Chilean death metal band that just recently released their first EP “The Line Between”. The EP was first put out on tape, but is now being re-released on CD by Unspeakable Axe Records, and therefore has the mark of quality before even hearing it! After a short atmospheric intro, the band immediately begins laying waste to your ears with their brand of classic death metal. The intro to this first full track, “Lobotomy”, sounds like the musical descent into hell, as it clearly takes great influence from Slayer and their tremolo-bar abuse. But this is a death metal record, and it isn’t long before the other classic death metal elements come into play.

Blood Oath’s sound is fairly predictable, but that’s a good thing. They occasionally try to change it up on “Lobotomy” by introducing a couple of off-kilter drumbeats, but truthfully, the band is better at playing straight-ahead death metal. Their vocalist in particular is a major strength of the band. Though he has a deep voice, his screams sound more like a ghoul than the guttural beasts that dominate death metal. The best comparison would be to a slightly more untamed version of David Vincent’s vocals on “Altars of Madness”. This is partly because the vocals almost emerge from the background; they aren’t completely at the forefront of the music even though they’re very clear. The result is that they don’t overpower the rest of the music. 

This description is true of the rest of the band as well. This EP is perfectly mixed to make each element pop up at just the right time, with no one instrument dominating. The bass in particular is always easy to hear, and makes this dark release sound even murkier. Part of what makes “The Line Between” so great is that it exudes evil. Every single track is an exercise in atmosphere, and the band doesn’t ruin it by overdoing elements like blast beats or even double bass. They use plenty of both, but only when necessary. Much to my surprise (and delight), there are tons of thrashier moments on this record, especially from the drumming. As a result, this EP sounds like something from the late 1980s rather than the years that followed. Overall, “The Line Between” hits all the right spots for my admittedly narrow tastes in death metal. It isn’t as good as the classics, but is unique enough to stand on its own, and as a result, is well worth a purchase!

Be sure to check out and like Blood Oath on Facebook!

Highlights

"Lobotomy"

"Rites of Cruelty"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%.