EP REVIEW: The Transience of Flesh – Descend to Acheron
For the most part, especially with genres like blackened death metal that are over-exposed within the underground, it’s very hard for an emerging band to make a name for themselves with their very first release. Moreover, with many bands within this style in particular having a far more formulaic sound that more often than not hinges upon trying sound as much like BEHEMOTH or BELPHEGOR as possible, it’s rare to come across a band that stands out for all the right reasons. Australia’s DESCEND TO ACHERON are one of those rare bands that do a great job of making a great first impression with their debut whilst having their own style.
Originally released in April, and now being re-released via Petrichor, the bands debut EP, The Transience of Flesh may just be one of the best blackened death metal records of the year, coupling intricate musicianship with subtle, progressive sensibilities, resulting in a record that is powerful and memorable.
The album starts with its titular track, a brilliant, monstrous slab of tight and ferocious blackened death metal built around intricate drums, beefy, groove-laden guitars and incredibly powerful vocals that range from dense gutturals to harsher howls. It’s a short, but punchy, affair that grabs the listener from the very first listen. Plague of Superstition proves to be a more mid-paced, but nonetheless aggressive offering, with some great bass hooks and catchy melodies from the lead guitar, with bellicose, chaotic moments that punctuate the more measured, atmospheric approach perfectly. The Godless Pt 1 returns to the speed-driven, visceral style of the album’s opening track, but with a noticeably more technical edge on all fronts, with the guitars and bass in particular injecting plenty of great hooks into this songs sound fairly quickly, with a chunky, rhythmic undercurrent maintaining the intensity throughout.
The Godless Pt 2, the previous track’s companion piece, shifts the tone of the music once again towards more immersive territories, with a slightly cleaner guitar sound and varied playing allowing for a more adventurous feel. It’s not without it’s more primal elements, with a few jarring flourishes and the cacophonous breaks keeping things as savage as the last three tracks. Your Suffering Is a Gift is a brief burst of brutality that leans significantly upon DESCEND TO ACHERON‘s death metal influences, with huge percussive blasts, crushing basslines and razor sharp, vicious guitar work all lending this song a much more belligerent and muscular sound, making it arguably one of the albums heavier numbers.
From the Mouths of Wolves is a marked change of pace from the rest of the record, with lots of soaring, clean guitars and plenty of progressive musicianship that moves away from the tried and tested formula that has characterised the music up until now. The song still embraces the more caustic blackened death that has served them so well thus far, but the eclectic elements peppered liberally throughout work extremely well, and make this final song stand out from the pack for all the right reasons.
The Transience of Flesh is a great example of just how a record can exemplify all of the myriad elements that make a genre so appealing whilst developing its own sound and style. The chunky, rhythmic hooks are certainly there, and each of these six songs is tight and intense, but there’s a lots of great melodic and progressive flourishes that stray away from the tried and tested formula of blackened death metal, giving this band their own distinct sound at points. The fact that the bass is also present in the mix, and often injects plenty of memorable moments into the music in a way that many other bands that play in this style often neglect, sets DESCEND TO ACHERON apart from many of their peers. All in all, this is a fantastic debut that shows lots of promise for whatever the band come up with next.
Rating: 9/10
The Transience of Flesh is out now via Petrichor.
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