Self Released 2012
1.Opening the Gates 2.The Rupturing 3.Spirit of the Void
4.Cold Black Stars 5.Shadows Consuming Spirits 6.Utopia
7.Failures 8.Dripping Black Bile 9.The Dark Era
First track ‘Opening The Gates’ begins life in pummelling
fashion, the bands well-honed brand of brutal death metal sounds crisp, tight
and is amazingly savage from the outset. Of course you would expect nothing
less from a band that are now unleashing their third full length album and can
probably be classed as “seasoned veterans” of the UK underground scene. It’s a
good start. As if to prove the point, ‘The Rupturing’ is even more brutal than
the opener, and absolute storm of blast beat laden brutal death that destroys.
The pace is dropped to a sludgy crawl nearer the middle of the song, not
lasting too long; it is then followed by the return of the bludgeoning and
blasting death metal. DBB sound overwhelmingly intense when they’re at full
speed. As the song ends, the pace is returned to the slower tempo which is a
good way to close the song after all of the devastation. ‘Spirit Of The Void’ tricks
you into thinking it’s going to be a slower, filler song as it begins slowly, and
similar to what was on offer in the previous song. However, just as you settle
into the slower pace, blast beats are unleashed without warning, hurling the
song into oblivion. This doesn’t last long however, the pace is then dropped
and the remainder of the song takes on an almost Morbid Angel feel and sound,
an evil and sinister crawl ensues. ‘Cold Black Stars’ is a much more varied
affair, utilising everything heard so far to great effect in a well-constructed
and crafted song. There’s real power in this track, especially in the choruses
when the fast tremolo picked guitars and pummelling double kick drums work in
unison to maximum effect and give the song an extremely catchy sound. These
passages also show off the bands tightness extremely well, but you wouldn’t
really expect anything less really.
‘Shadows Consuming Spirits’ is another monster;
being the bastard child of Immolation and Hate Eternal should any comparisons
be needed. And again, the band add variety to the song writing by mixing tempos
well which in turn ensures the listener is never going to get bored –
definitely no fear of that here! The opening riffs to ‘Utopia’ are actually
quite melodic, and unlike anything heard so far and almost act as the
introduction to the song before the heavier and slower riffs burst open in
marked contrast. Vocally the track is actually very sparse as there is a long
section to the song which would be classed as instrumental, the drums being
given free rein to really ‘do their own thing’ which they do for the good of
the song. The more melodic start to the previous track appears to have ‘rubbed
off’ on ‘Failures’ as it begins in quite melodic fashion, having an almost anthem like
feel to it which may be attributed to the slower pace in part. Personally, the
band sound at their best at full speed and this song really detracts what the
band are capable of doing, which is playing brutal as fuck, tight and precise
savage death metal. Maybe this track is the album ‘filler’? ‘Dripping Black
Bile’ returns the album to the heavier death metal which was lacking
previously, however the pace is once again held back to the slower tempos which
is shame as this is the shortest song on the entire album and anyone hoping
they would blast entirely through the three, nearly four minutes will be sadly
let down. Title track ‘The Dark Era’ closes proceedings continues on in similar
fashion, slower heavier riffs are accompanied by slow rhythmic drumming which
lacks the truly killer blow to end the album. It’s fairly obvious the band were
opting for the more epic ending which is fair play, epic endings do work on
certain albums but as mentioned earlier, DBB are a much greater proposition
when they unleash the furious blast beat lead brutal death metal. These are
added in towards the close of the song, but only sparsely. Overall, the album
is almost a tale of two halves with the opening few tracks bursting forth in
suitably brutal fashion and highlighting what the band are truly capable of.
Then, as the album progresses, the pace and feel to the album is somewhat
relaxed and takes on a more epic, anthem like sound. Thankfully, the differing
styles adopted don’t sound “too different” so as to give the album a disjointed
sound. The production utilised holds all the songs and the album together well
as does the tightness of the playing. Packed full of variety, with a tightness
and extremely high standard of musicianship, there will be something to quench
the thirst of the majority of extreme metal fans, be it the brutal blast beat
heavy death metal assault or the slower, Morbid Angel inspired crawls, this
album is sure to please and comes well recommended.
7.5 Out of 10
Band Page: Here
Buy It: Here
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