MELEKTAUS - Transcendence Through Ethereal Scourge (2004, Grotesque Productions)

There's a whole lot of noise out there in regard to internet file sharing. Well this review is testament to what happens when the interweb/music connection really works. To put it simply, download band x, listen to band x, band x absolutely slays, go to website x and buy cd of said band. Without file sharing there's a great deal of music I wouldn't have been able to hear. Discovering new music, such as the 2004 album Transcendence Through Eternal Scourge, is a life passion. When it is as good as this slab of ferocity, I praise the wonder of the information superhighway and spend my money on a product of the band's. How can that be a bad thing?

Oh, the review...well I mentioned the sheer ferocity of the album. In a world full of bands who blast it takes something stupendous to stand out. What Melektaus achieve here is a level of unrelenting viciousness, propelled by a snare drum which almost literally slices, and a kickdrum which pummels to perfection. Production on the whole is spot-on, Melektaus refreshingly choose a sound which allows each instrument to be heard with clarity without sacrificing the requisite rawness. A nice change from the current wave of almost miasmic death metal, such as Impetuous Ritual, Portal and Encoffination, who bury their discord in shrouds of lo-fidelity and feedback. Not that I don't love that sound, but in this instance it is great to hear each component clear from the grave's choking influence. The vocals lack variation but are pretty balanced within the mix, and are not overused or over-emphasised so as to detract from the music.

Melektaus' devotion to razor sharp grinding death is occasionally pared back to reveal, often through doomier sections, a hint of the epic grandiosity of Nile or Behemoth. But where those bands often move beyond traditional death metal structures, using keyboards and ancient instrumentation to hint at an archaic time of war and conquest, Melektaus do not stray beyond the traditional guitar/drums/bass sound. It's actually a relief to hear so focussed an aural assault - no need for any filigree here, this music expresses itself through a barely controlled violence that occasionally reminds of the straightforward savagery of vintage Slayer.

As I said, this made such an impression I literally went straight online and purchased a copy. So picking out highlights is difficult, but suffice it to say that the sheer quality of the work here means that attention never wavers. There is a surgeon's precision at work here, but with the threat of butchery ever apparent. Anyone who has heard Dominus Xul will recognise the roots of Melektaus' brutality, but without the more primitive sonic approach. I was often reminded of Impetuous Ritual's use of twin guitar discordance and as mentioned the short doom passages hint at Nile. However none of those bands utilise quite the same levels of hyper-speed intensity. Comparisons in this regard take me to more black metal oriented acts such as 1349 or Sammath.

Overall, if any of the bands referenced in this review appeal, Transcendence Through Eternal Scourge will doubtless resonate. If you haven't heard any of the bands above, but the thought of vicious, blasting and sinister death metal that hints at the epic but never waivers from brutal concision appeals, then this unheralded classic surely deserves some of your time.