Dead Congregation - Promulgation of the Fall (2014)^{Release ID: 2498}

Greece in terms of metal output is more commonly associated with black metal with its own brand of Hellenic BM an internationally recognised sound from a country that has given us such greats as Varathron and Rotting Christ. When it comes to other genres of metal, more specifically death metal the options for well-known bands are limited to Septic Flesh and Dead Congregation and their styles really are opposites.

The symphonic grandiosity of SF is far removed from the darker and more doomy death metal sound of Dead Congregation. Unafraid to throw in repetitive and consistent riffs, Dead Congregation present as a behemoth in the death metal stakes with a sound reminiscent of Incantation in their slower-paced moments yet also able to churn out the frantic urgency of Immolation on the same track or album.

Promulgation of the Fall showcases this penchant for a wide exploration of death metal brilliantly. Blasting away with a Morbid Angel like level of intensity whilst at the same time able to capture a real spirit of having enough in the tank to go in for the death/doom pummelling on tracks also. Tracks like Serpentskin feel like they go on for about ten minutes when in effect they only last half the time which shows how well they are able present that measured approach to their song writing and album composition to challenge you on how you think genres/sub-genres should overlap.

Tracks end quickly with the next track starting immediately after, dialling the pace and tempo up or down considerably in the process making you constantly have to adjust as a listener which if done wrong can leave you pretty disorientated and for me what these hairpin turns do is show that this is a death metal that commands your attention. I can see how you can easily get lost with this record if trying to fill the background only. You need to focus on the whole experience to wring all the life from this record.  There's cool lead work here, that seep melancholy just as well as they sear eardrums with their sonic explorations.  The riffing has a groove to it at times that is as infectious as it is horrifying.  The drums when not blasting like machine guns run intelligent fills and it feels like there's always something going on just beneath the surface of the skin with the percussion overall.

The only downside is how much it sounds like Incantation but that's a criticism so easy to level at most bands nowadays that it's hard to often see past that comparison, but as I mention above there is so much more going on here than death/doom royalty worship.