My first Deicide album!! I never imagined that ͞The Stench of Redemption͟ would embark me on a journey of such an epic band and also could not believe that how could I have ignored such a legend of death metal. I had my inhibitions when I first saw the album and even when I heard it but this album is everything that an outstanding death metal album should sound like, actually this should be referred to as a template by other bands on how to make an insanely crunching record. The stench of redemption or as many call it TSOR has not only got excellent musical arrangements it has also got one of the best sound productions I have ever heard on a death metal album . All the instruments can be heard in different layers i.e. the vocals which are brutal and relentless do not dominate the guitar sound and similarly the ever pounding Steve ashiem does not go overboard with his sound either . Hence making the sonic experience something that you may not experience everyday. Well who would have thought that Deicide would survive the debacle it suffered by the departing of the Hoffman brothers, even they themselves wouldn't have thought about it. But this album is a kick in the face to all those who thought the band had no where to go from here. They just did not come back , they showed how the things are supposed to be done to perfection. The musicianship is also of the highest order and cannot be appreciated by any rank amateur on the street. The duo of Jack Owen and Ralph Santolla doesn't only add a spark to the album , they make it into a firestorm of riffs. Ralph's background gives the songs a melodic inclination which is very unusual for the band but it fits into the album flawlessly whereas Jack Owen has brought in his own signature sound thanks to his long career with the God Fathers of Death metal - Cannibal Corpse. Steve Ashiem's drumming is something that you just can't get over with. It does not sound as though there was a machine sitting behind the kit and going ͞tik tik tik tik clack clack" which is so prevalent in a lot of upcoming bands these days. The drumming sounds very real and you can feel the physical strength that Steve would have put into drumming to these songs and personally for me that just takes the album to a whole new level. Glen might show some signs of ageing physically but who the hell can say that while listening to tracks such as "Homage for Satan", "The Lord's Sedition" and " Desecration" where his vocal passages can scare the daylights out of any one. Lyrical references are still blasphemous and anti Christ but just a step above with more intelligence shown while planning on the song titles and that͛s why they don't sound cheesy. The song structure is not uniform and each song travels through a lot of melodic as well as groovy passages which serve as excellent breakdowns and keeps the album alive and kicking till the last song hence making it one of those albums where you wouldn't be pained to sit through its entirety. There as such no weak tracks on the album but the outstanding tracks include "Desecration", "Homage for Satan͟, "Not of this Earth", "The Lord's Sedition", "Death to Jesus". Bloodbath unblessing the purity Bloodbath's new album!!! This news flashed in front of me on blabbermouth.net. I just had to get it in any which way possible thanks to the last three crushing albums streaming pure heart wrenching death metal. "Unblessing the Purity" just like all the previous Bloodbath's efforts is an evolution in the sound of the band with respect to its predecessor which a lot of people don't appreciate and slightly even I don't. Follow-up to a powerhouse like "Nightmares made Flesh" would have never been easy and maybe to a certain extent the band could not top it but then they haven't let their fans down also. The only minus point for me was that this was not a full fledged EP which kind of leaves the listener begging for more in the end and does not feel satisfied. With a few line up changes and induction of Mikael from Opeth once again the band sounds tight and gruesome. Mikael's vocals are merciless and they stand out on this album more than anything just proving further that he is one of the best in the business. The vocals style is a departure from the black/death metal shrieks of the great Peter Tagtgren. Adding on to the brutality is none other than Opeth's Axe. His drumming is intense and crisp with a lot of variations through out all the four songs with both technicality and speed thrown in from every corner the drumming will knock your heads off. He just doesn't fail to impress on every record he does. Compared to "Nightmares made flesh" Renkse's bass hasn't been given as much weight age as on that album. He does have his own moments and the bass is pretty audible through out the LP but not like the last record where it had some or the other part in ever song, yet an outstanding effort from Renkse. The new member on the fret board is Per 'Sodomizer' Eriksson whose inclusion kind of pushes the LP to be a brutal and technically top notch experience and well I don't want to complain about the band becoming all technical. Even though the band started out to be an old school death metal band and the head behind the whole idea Dan Swano is no longer with the band but with their latest effort I am satisfied because I am getting my dose of supreme death metal. Almost all songs are par excellence but all of then have something special that stands out e.g. the first track has an amazing dose of blast beats that will rattle your brains out, Weak aside the second track is a very atmospheric track and has an aura of its own , thanks to the intricate guitar work. P.S. - All those who love brutal, technical, avant-garde death metal should have this record and all those who want an introduction to the above mentioned genres can start from this album as a small offering. Behemoth's ninth studio effort titled 'Evangelion' was the most anticipated release of the year for me but to be honest it let me down on some fronts. The album is epic sounding but not an outstanding by any measure. The rating that I have given here is a little more than what it should get solely based on the fact that I am a big fan of Behemoth. Technically the album is at the same level as the previous two efforts 'Demigod¶,¶ The Apostasy' and it could be safely said that they have come down on the technicality of drums and the guitar solos as well. As pointed out very well in the earlier review that Nergal seems to be running out of ideas for creating songs. The first thing that you will notice instantly in the songs is the variation which is missing like earlier albums. The songs continue keep going on a main riff unlike other albums. I have always loved solos on a behemoth album because they stand out from the song as an individual entity but it does not feel so in this album as the solos are not that effective. But now moving on to the positives of the album which help you grasp this album. Firstly the production on the album is crystal clear and what exactly you would want on a metal album making it possible to hear every single riff and cymbal, crash and toms being hit by Inferno. The vocals are more human like and raspy as compared to Demigod but not as aggressive or passionate as Zos Kia Cultus or Thelema.6.But a definitive change from all the other albums that songs also include long shrieks which were absent in almost all behemoth albums. The motive of Nergal and Co. seemed to make an album sound more epic than 'in your face¶ because there are lesser blast beats, more groove based song structures, more riff-age and songs that could be played in big arenas. The album starts with a very dynamic intro in the opening track 'Daimonos' which sets the stage for the epic feeling that goes on from the 1st second of the album to the last one. It is a fast song with an intense build up and brutal choruses which finally progress into a long solo which just gives it a perfect behemoth song and one of the best openers that Behemoth has had. Another stand out track is 'Ov fire and Void' which is by far one of the slowest songs by Behemoth but is an epic song and has a brooding feel which really hits you hard and makes you bang your head with a lot of intensity. The grooviest song to come out from the Behemoth camp is also in this album by the name of 'The Seed Ov I' which has one of the best breakdowns I have come across in a Behemoth album. Other stand out track would be 'Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti' and 'Shemhamfarosh' which are typical blast beat affairs with the Behemoth rage that makes them more enjoyable.