Sweden and Norway are probably the only two countries in Scandinavia that contain a certain type of metal music export. Norway has black metal and Sweden has death metal, but what about the countries that congregate in this part of the world such as Denmark, Finland and Island. Finland dabbles in a bit of each while Island and Denmark really have nothing. One thing is certain; Finland has plenty of extreme metal;
De Lirium's Order and
Deathchain for example. But they also have
Sear, a band that knows how to deliver some quality death/black metal. Sear is one of a few examples where a band has managed to fuse both genres to a nearly perfect result. Their recent release named
Lamentations Of Destruction is without a doubt one mean slab of death/black that will force many metalheads into unstoppable headbanging.
Lamentations of Destruction is death/black at it's finest hour. Here you have everything from both genres. First you have the death metal ingredients which consist of: Deep guttural growling, thick and brutal guitar work and all sorts of intense drum patterns. And then you have the black metal ingredients such as incredibly raspy and evil black metal screaming, haunting and precise tremolo picking and of course good helping of blast-beats. On top of this, the band has thrown in lyrics that only focus on anti-Christianity, hell and satanism. The song variety is carefully thought-out, thus eliminating that typical repetitiveness that can become painful with bands such as these. Almost every song has a memorable riff section or melody that will easily get nailed into your head. One huge surprise is that the crew has managed to mix in some sombre melodies throughout the album. This all sounds impossible (and corny) due to the incredibly vicious musical attack, but it actually sounds incredibly well thought-out. During all the blasting and riff-onslaughts that represent the majority of this album, there are suddenly precious moments where the music goes into a more tranquil and melodic state. This is one of the strongest traits of the album despite how it’s sandwiched between brutality and evil. This is a welcome change in the music, only proving further that
Lamentations of Destruction focuses on keeping the track variety great and will keep the listener interested throughout the entire duration.
There is a lot of great stuff on this album, but there are still some small flaws here and there although they are just trivial things that only the listener can point out.
Lamentations Of Destruction is an impressive metal release and is definitely one of best death/black fusions to date. The members’ ability to mix many punishing metal genres into one album and make it sound effective is skillfully done. All of the instruments are perfectly produced; the guitars are razorsharp, loud and thick, all vocals are pure and untouched by production tricks and the drumming is not an overpowering aspect next to the other instruments, which we hear a lot of in this genre.
Lamentations of Destruction is not necessarily a breath of fresh air to the metal scene, but it is a very underrated album compared to many of the bands that don’t deserve the recognition they have received. People who are into extreme forms of metal should get their hands on this album. If you like death metal, get it! If you like black metal, get it! If you enjoy both genres, get it!
Pros
+ Impressive guitar and vocal performance
+ Superb sound production
+ Great track variety
Cons
- The loud shouting in rare occasions sounds awful
- Can be a bit tedious after 'Violation Of The Soul''
Recommended Tracks
-- Violation Of The Soul
-- Heaven Ablaze
-- One Throne
4/5
