Requiem – We Tackle The ‘Damnation’ EP.
Requiem – Ararat, Victoria, Australia.
Ararat boys, Requiem, formed in 2012 and by the September 2014, the band had premiered their Mass Of The Dead EP, showcasing five tracks piecing together Thrash Metal and Melodic Death Metal, all slightly blackened with a Black Metal gloss – if there is such a thing.
Influences: ‘Demolition Hammer, Iron Maiden, Dissection, Trivium, Warbringer‘
December 2015 saw their follow-up EP Damnation make it’s presence known, with four brand new tracks, showing a tighter and more comfortable band.
Musically Fresh has covered some of the Victorian Punk-Rock scene and continues to do so but what of it’s Metal scene? After receiving a request to review Damnation, we decided it was about time to grip satan by the horns and approach our eternal…
\\Damnation//
‘Fallen gods, shallow thoughts, empty words of the un-denying – Hollow prayers, soulless stares, followers till the end of days – Fallen far, torn away, from the path of righteousness – See behind, endless lies, deceiving the endless masses’.
Despite it’s soft, sombre and misleading intro, not much in the way of time elapses before furious, dark and precise Thrash takes over in ‘Of Atrophy and Desolation’. It’s nothing new, or anything phenomenal but it works and well I might add, in showcasing the band’s cited “Bay Area Thrash” influences, as well as showing the harder Melodic Death Metal and Black Metal tendencies.
The longest track on the EP and in the band’s recorded works overall, it would be a poor decision to leave this out of a live show, as with it’s length and tight composition, it does the band credit.
‘Evocation Ritual’ has it’s tempo slowed but without a lapse in the intensity laid down by the previous track. Vocally it’s more focussed on the heavier growl, with stronger, harder rhythms and dual guitar solos onside, all together making for far more aggressive take on their amalgamative Metal sound, in stark comparison to the first release.
Thrash Metal away! ‘Threshold Of Decay’ stands as one of the stronger Thrash numbers on the release, while still utilising a slight harder and darker edge, the band’s cross-over of their influences is still well weaved throughout.
Now, this might just be because I’m not a “natural” Metal listener but the instrumentals from around the 3:20 mark, seem somewhat forced at first. They do improve in their complexity but the whole affair drags on for too long on the the recording at least, live it could be a different story.
The guns are out for the final instalment. Furious dual-vocal interplay from both the Black and Death sides of the band’s sound, furious charged-Thrash riffage and darkened “classic” Metal guitar leads, intertwined with the chaos that runs throughout the track.
This title track of sorts shows the band at their strongest and at their most progressive within their set of influences, closing a strong and shredded release.
‘BEHOLD
ETERNAL DAMNATION‘
Find the band via the links below:
- Head to Facebook for updates.
- For streaming find Requiem on SoundCloud.
- For videos head to their Youtube Channel.
- For merch and the bands music, head to their bandcamp profile.
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