Soulless / Exsecrator - Inheritance of the Wicked Empire (Eyes of the Dead Productions, 2005)

 

This split is like a well-wrapped gift in the shape of a football: the packaging is attractive, but you know exactly what you're going to get. This is mostly the case with this interesting release; from the first strummed chords, the music follows its predictably set path with the drummers from both bands assuming the role of a pneumatic drill and contentedly blasting away. The split comprises of two individual releases: Exsecrator's demo Vehemence of Human Displeasure and Soulless' EP Peri Psyches. From the two, the Italian Exsecrator seems to be the most promising. Although suffering from a murky production, their three tracks show a slightly more capable outcome than their Polish counterparts. The songs in question utilize a good amount of mid-tempo, chugging Incantation-esque parts and faster blast attacks along with truly cloacal vocals, leaving a satisfying aftertaste when they hit the finish mark. With a little more work on the drums so as to make them more innovative and less of a background haze of beats, this could well stand out as a coherent and focused slab of brutal death metal without falling into the trap of being monotonous and stale.

Soulless, on the other hand, although satisfactory production-wise, seem to be on a testosterone-fuelled frenzy. There are parts where the music comes out as a mish-mash of riffs, meshed together with unneeded guitar blabbering, becoming tedious and tiring to the ear. Thankfully this does not make for the majority of this side of the musical dish, but nonetheless it does inhibit the band's overall stature. Malevolent Creation have the lion's share in terms of musical influences, with the Floridian legend having its say on the blasting, thrashy parts many a time. Behemoth's illustrious riff-fuelled aggression also peaks its nose during the band's better moments.

So the split, as transpired, will find its place among its dedicated fan-base; the rest have already gone off to the next review by now.

Contact: http://eyesofthedead.cjb.net

(originally written for Chronicles of Chaos - 21/11/2005)