Apep is a band from Zwickau, Germany and ‘Before whom evil trembles’ is their second full-length album after the debut ‘The invocation of the deathless one’ from 2020. The four guys in the band (M. Friedrich – drums, O. Pikowski – guitars, C. Fleckeisen – vocals and H. Osterloch – guitars) are seasoned musicians, having played in plenty of other bands before, and what they offer is a solid slab of technical Death Metal heavily influenced by Nile and the whole Egyptian-themed Extreme Metal scene. You can guess that by the name of the band: Apep is the serpent goddess of darkness, the opposite of the solar god Ra.
From the start of ‘Enslaving the putrefied remnants of the deceased’ you are being thrown into a whirlwind of blasting drums, technical guitar riffs and leads, and the furious growls of Fleckeisen. Apep deliver a good portion of melody, such as on the second track ‘The pillars of betrayal’. ‘Tombs of eternity’ attacks with some finger-twisting guitar riffing, reminding me of Death, Pestilence and (of course) Nile. ‘Wanderers in the waste’ is an acoustic track with Middle Eastern melodies which turns into an all-out assault with the title track ‘Before whom evil trembles (Goddess of carnage)’. ‘The breath of Kheti’ follows with lots of aggression and melody in between. The end of this impressive album comes with the ten-minute track ‘Swallowed by silent sands’: it offers slower parts mixed with faster blasting outbreaks and a melodic finale.
Apep’s second album ‘Before whom evil trembles’ is an exciting journey through the sands of ancient Egypt; the production is powerful and the cover artwork is impressive. Its author is Paolo Girardi, who has been working with bands like Revocation. If bands like Nile, Maat or Scarab are your thing, then check Apep out by any means; this could be your next favourite Egyptian-themed group.
