Info
- Band(s): Death Like Mass
- Label(s): Terratur Possessions
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: December 13, 2024
- Author(s): VincentP
Death Like Mass, the collective harbouring musicians from amongst others Cultes Des Ghoules, Lucifyre, Sodality and Nightbringer is ready to unveil its firstborn ‘The Lord of Flies’ through the exquisite Terratur Possessions. While this may be the first full-length on paper, the band released a rather monumental EP in 2019 with the preceding ‘Matka Na Sabicie’, a massive one-track recording with a duration of nearly 32 minutes. On it, Death Like Mass delivered a ritualistic and militant composition, atypical and disturbing and continuously reaching for the boundaries of the Black Metal genre. It blended first and second wave Black Metal, combining the early days of Mayhem, Master’s Hammer and Cultes des Ghoules with the esoteric flair of Dødsengel. And on ‘The Lord of Flies’ the band manages to push that formula even further.
That Death Like Mass should not purely be confined to the Black Metal template is clear from the sound on ‘The Lord of Flies’. While ‘Matka Na Sabicie’ had a sharp guitar sound, the less distorted guitar tone of ‘The Lord of Flies’ pushes it further away from the usual molds, opening up the sound to the layers of madness that the other instruments bring. It further reveals a dimension of influences that span across the borders of Black Metal, most notably of 80’s Slayer and of early Morbid Angel. And it’s in that twisted formula that Death Like Mass finds its highly intriguing sound.
The album is unpredictable and diverse, filled with fascinating twists and turns. Fittingly, the vocals steal the show ranging from hisses and shrieks to clean incantations or intense inhales such as in ‘The Killing of Abel’. It adds to an intense and overwhelming experience, often manisted by the onslaught of drums, such as in the savage ‘Sorcery Unbridled’. At the same time, the guitar solos in for example ‘Wygnaniec’ and ‘Of Mercy and Bloodlust’ offer a fascinating contrast to this storm of percussion. This is further enhanced by haunting keyboards in such as in the bass-heavy ‘Krocz ze mną, ojcze‘, giving the music that distinct ritualistic flair of first wave Black Metal such as Samael and Hellenic Black Metal like early Necromantia and Varathron. The whammy guitars and opening riff in ‘Holy Traitor’ further enforce the notion that while the sound of the band is undeniably Black Metal, Death and Thrash Metal play important parts as well. I would even go as far as to say that ‘The Lord of Flies’ feels like worship of all Metal that is evil and unholy, holding ‘Hell Awaits’, ‘Altars of Madness’, ‘Deathcrush’ and ‘Ritual’ in equal reverence. And the result is utterly intriguing.
One man’s brilliance is the other’s madness. Not everyone may appreciate what Death Like Mass offers. ‘The Lord of Flies’ is Black Metal for the individual, not for the masses. I dare you to embrace the chaos and be swallowed in its lunacy. Like me, you may find yourself in complete awe.
