EP REVIEW: Reanimated – Consecration

You were likely raised to not judge a book by its cover. A valuable lesson for sure, but sometimes, you have everything you need to know right there on the surface. Enter CONSECRATION, one of the UK’s heaviest bands; their potent brand of death-doom is plainly apparent in their no-holds-barred, sacrilegious visual identity and their band persona is a veritable bingo card of the subgenres’ tell-tale calling cards. In short, you know you are in for something malevolent right from the off.

In the run up to their new album in 2022, the band has exhumed three deep cuts and given them a new lease of life on Reanimated. Comprising two tracks from their 2010 debut EP Gut The Priest and an unreleased 2011 demo, Reanimated is 22 minutes of menacing brutality and an incredible recounting of their ferocious career thus far.

As a standalone EP, Reanimated is a fantastic piece of work. Recorded in a single live session at the band’s rehearsal studio, there is a real sense of wickedness and genuine evil about their sound. Daniel Bollans’ guttural, earth-shattering vocals are utterly monstrous, and there are special shout outs too for the guitar work of Liam Houseago and newest band member Andy Matthews, who have perfectly blended elements of doom, death metal, black metal, and a sprinkle of thrash to keep this recording sounding wholly sinister.

But it’s when we look at the tracks comparatively, old vs new, that the brilliance of Reanimated becomes clear. That’s not to say that any of these songs were bad in their original incarnations, but now Cast Down For The Burning sounds dusty and decrepit compared to the MMXXI redux. Where the original was a meandering amalgam of vitriol and venom, the new recording is a polished, direct attack. By trimming the fat and delivering a raw, unfiltered performance, CONSECRATION have nailed their biggest strengths and delivered their best recorded work to date.

It’s a similar story with Gut The Priest MMXXI; where the original recording was a low-res, almost scrambled effort, the new rendition exudes unobstructed, primitive hatred. It’s also an incredible accomplishment to keep the underground feel of their work, even though this is of a noticeably higher production standard. Most curious though is the fact that even though this version is almost 50% longer than the original, it feels much more immediate. It speaks volumes of their growth that they have somehow delivered a more concise, concentrated product in a wider span of time.

The closest we come to new material is on Domain Of Despair, a previously unreleased 2010 demo, available here for the first time in any format. The slow build is monolithically ominous, thanks to the sparse, creeping drum work of Jorge Figueiredo. Tension mounts and danger lurks as the layers build toward a massive final third that sees the uniformity come crashing down into blistering guitar solos and double bass pedal mayhem.

Reanimated is a tantalising prospect of what’s to come next from CONSECRATION. Their most streamlined, visceral work to date and a sure sign of a band that have honed their craft across a long, wicked and furious career. Long may they continue.

Rating: 8/10

Reanimated is set for release on November 19th via Cavernous Records.

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