ALBUM REVIEW: The Resurrection Of Lilith – Defacing God
For many in the world who are versed in traditional religious texts – specifically in this case the Christian Bible – the first humans on Earth were Adam and Eve, the latter created from the dirt and one of the former’s ribs. However, take your research beyond the book of Genesis and Lilith appears, depicted in a number of guises as either Adam’s first wife, the original ‘she-demon’ or, in some passages, the serpent that tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Her presence and overriding dark nature has, naturally, inspired a number of metal bands to write stories about her and DEFACING GOD, a new melodic death metal outfit from Aalborg in Denmark, are one such act – on Friday September 2nd, their debut album The Resurrection Of Lilith is unleashed via Napalm Records.
Despite the title, Lilith is not the sole focal point of this album – rather, DEFACING GOD have borne an unholy trinity within the record, bringing together three women of legend to form a triumvirate of darkness and evil. The titular character is brought to the fore first as part of the song trilogy The Invocation, her arrival heralded by the opening strains of Black Moon, a sinister building of chanting and clanging soundscapes. What follows are huge orchestrations that tip their hat to the likes of CRADLE OF FILTH and DIMMU BORGIR, but rather than descending into wailing guitars and high-pitched screams, DEFACING GOD are more at home with thunderous blast beats and crushing riffs, which are an excellent compliment to the bombastic synths.
Lilith is swiftly followed by her companions Jezebel and Abyzou through their respective tracks, both huge slabs of soaring metal and pounding drums, before all three begin their chaos in Rise Of The Trinity, a more measured affair with the guitars chugging as opposed to racing and lead guitarist Signar Petersen cranking out a top-notch solo. It makes for a nice change of pace to herald a new chapter within the record.
Given the subject matter, this isn’t about to end well for the good guys; indeed, Rise Of The Trinity is followed by The End Of Times as the trio wreak havoc across the world. DEFACING GOD don’t let up for a moment with their music, though; there are no quiet, reflective passages here. Echoes From Fulda has a huge stomp to it, Death Followed Like A Plague sees the band step into more gothic territory within their melody, the guitar lines something that wouldn’t look out of place if they were in a PARADISE LOST song, and In The Land Of Rain And Sorrow brings back the extreme elements that had been so pertinent in the album prior.
One can’t quite call the album a full concept record, for the tracks in the latter half seem to be their own stories as opposed to feeding into the main arc, which is a bit of a let-down as it feels like DEFACING GOD haven’t followed through on their vision, but the musicality is strong enough that it doesn’t threaten to derail the album as a whole.
The story of Lilith is one woven into millennia of legends and tales and she’s oft-talked about within metal; DEFACING GOD‘s take is a smart one. As far as debut albums go, this is a solid effort with some excellent ideas, although carrying the concept to the end would have carried greater impact. Even then, you’ll certainly hear worse albums this year.
Rating: 7/10
The Resurrection Of Lilith is set for release on September 2nd via Napalm Records.
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