Over the past couple of years, Abyss Records have become one
of Metal’s best underground suppliers of new bands. You know, the kind of
label that will make you discover unknown and interesting acts, no matter how much time you spend on reading underground 'zines. And as
people seem to be fighting globalization, one must admit that in this particular case, it’s a blessing. What a pleasure to discover a new
Stockholm-based band on an American label!
May seem like a detail, but this fine logo immediately made me want to hear that band.
And obviously the pleasure is even more
intense as Desultor are a very promising band. There are 2 guys presented as “permanent”
band members here: Markus Joha handles guitars and vocals and Michael Ibrahim
takes care of the drums. They describe their music as “Murder Metal”. Could someone please tell them that this label is already used by Macabre – the US funny -but not so good- Death Metal band??!!
Anyways, forget about the damn labels, since describing Desultor’s Metal is one nasty challenge. I often like to
look around the web and read reviews for records I listen to; especially when a band is that difficult to characterize, I like to read about other reviewers opinions.
In their case, Desultor are mostly
described as prog’ or technical Death/Thrash Metal. Why not? The thing is,
although they seem to be a pretty technical band, their songs are very catchy
and built on a very “classic” extreme metal scheme. The best way to describe
them is probably to mention 2 other bands: Nevermore and Into Eternity. From Nevermore, take the
vocals; as they really remind me of Warrel Dane's style. There’s this intensity and the
constant melancholy in the clear singing, and even though Markus doesn’t have
Warrel Dane’s untouchable talent, he does a really great job transmitting dark
emotions. They big “chunky” riffs also reminded me of Nevermore but the Extreme
Metal (meaning very fast riffing and drums) mixed with the melodic singing; has to be credited to Into Eternity, one of the first bands, if not the very first one, to use clean and high-pitched vocals on insane blast-beats.
However, make no mistake, this very young
band has it’s own personality, and definitely displays a huge ambition and
talent. There influences may seem obvious, but they really don’t sound like any
of the bands cited above.
Masters Of Hate is a brilliant first record
from a band that sure is going to shine in the near future. I’m not sure you
understood what the music REALLY sounds like, which is a good thing, because it
shows how original Desultor are. The best way to discover these guys and to
fall for their charm is to click on this link and to listen to some songs online.
Cool cover that perfectly illustrates the music on the album
One last thing I need to mention: there seems
to be a concept on Masters Of Hate, something complex and that nicely suits the
cover artwork and the band’s image. Some of you guys probably already know
how much I LOVE bands that kind of define their own universe or world to
explore.
This is clearly the best song on the record & the easiest way to convince you that this band is brilliant.
Yath
