ALBUM REVIEW: Deathcall – Agnes Vein

Crawling out of the deep, dank underground of Thessaloniki, Greece, AGNES VEIN have taken stock of their long list of influences to release Deathcall upon the world – because there isn’t enough misery out there already apparently.

This is a blackened doom record filled with dirge, hatred and melancholy, using the sounds of YOB, ELECTRIC WIZARD, CANDLEMASS and NEUROSIS to name but a few. As the band’s first record since 2013’s Soulship, they have had a long time to get their material together, but having faced a litany of lineup changes and global situations, it’s perhaps not been the most conducive creative process.

Vultures Hymn (Praise Bounteous) is an early, clear sign of the melting pot of influences. Between the riffage of their doom heroes, and the atmospheric creation of their black metal idols, the song gives a great snapshot as to what it is that AGNES VEIN does, and sets the tone for the rest of the record.

Rara Null carries a certain discordance that feels downright evil and provides the album with its key highlight. At the midway point, the track slows to a point of the wheels coming off before imploding into a brutal sonic assault that makes the listener question how such a noise can be produced by just three band members. Ferocious, brooding and captivating, this may be one of AGNES VEIN‘s best songs to date.

Album closer The Golgotha Entanglement is an altogether different beast. Starting with a low and slow build via chants and feedback, before unfolding into yet more behemoth riffs and the most cathartic outburst of vocal prowess, the song itself is fantastic in the main. But then it just sort of ends, and so too does the album. Anticlimactic isn’t quite the right word, but the ending does leave you expecting something more. Perhaps it’s the fact that Deathcall‘s 45+ minute runtime feels only half that length, maybe it’s the fact that this final song begins to meander somewhat toward the end of its 10:46 existence, but something feels very abrupt about the end, to the extent that it will still catch you out on your fourth or fifth listen.

Sadly, there are also a number of production hitches present through Deathcall, namely on the title track and Sovereign Star. Hopefully only an issue on the advanced promo, it’s a jarring and frustrating misstep, and each time completely removes the atmosphere that has been built to that point as the track skips like a scratch on a vinyl record.

All in all though, Deathcall is a solid record that never quite manages to reach (or moreover, maintain) that next level. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic mix of some of metal’s greatest names across the subgenre spectrum, and an encouraging sign of a burgeoning Greek scene.

Rating: 7/10

Deathcall is out now via Venerate Industries.

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