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Death Karma - The History Of Death & Burial Rituals Part I review




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Reviewer:
9.5

48 users:
8.1
Band: Death Karma
Album: The History Of Death & Burial Rituals Part I
Release date: February 2015


01. Slovakia - Journey Of The Soul
02. Madagascar - Famadihana
03. Mexico - Chichén Itzá
04. Czech Republic - Úmrlcí Prkna
05. India - Towers Of Silence
06. China - Hanging Coffins

Death Karma is a Czech blackened death metal band, but don't expect to find yourself listening to Behemoth. While there is plenty of death influence in the vocals, I would describe the overall sound as kvlt symphonic black metal a la early Satyricon, Marduk, or Sacramentum. Many words come to mind as I attempt to describe its atmosphere: visceral, gripping, ugly; yet stunningly beautiful. Perhaps the most accurate word for me: Spell-binding. Hooks are equal parts infectious and hypnotic in their grief-stricken melodies.

Unfamiliar to the group, I was not surprised when my Googling turned up a similar masterpiece in Cult Of Fire's मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान. Sharing two members, including vocalist and mastermind Infernal Vlad, The History Of Death & Burial Rituals Part I not only reaches the heights of that album, but may even surpass it in conviction and grit. I may not understand a word of Vlad's language, but that does not for an instant keep me from hanging on every goosebump-inducing howl.

Compositions are lush in emotion and concise in structure. While not sharing the Indian influences of his last LP, the ever-present, looming organs return to complement the simple-yet memorable riffs. Production has a cavernous quality with plenty reverb and a sense of depth. This is most apparent in the bass drum, which sounds like the hammer of goddamn Thor. The recording may be raw, but not at the expense of low end.

One of my personal hallmarks of a great album is an ability to create a sense of consistency throughout while still showcasing variety from track to track. Death Karma must have been reading my diary. From the sermon-esque intro of "Slovakia" to the pounding, largely instrumental "India," the almost hopeful "China" to the spiraling madness of "Mexico;" The History Of Death & Burial Rituals part I still manages to maintain enough aesthetic throughout its 6 tracks to build something truly special.

So far, this is the best black metal I have heard of 2015, but it's obviously early to cast a vote. At the very least, it warrants your time and attention for ballot consideration. We have all been known to jump the gun on an album only to find our initial impression fade over time, but my compulsions so far have proved otherwise with this one. Over the first week I found myself at their bandcamp page on at least a dozen occasions, and I sat through its duration every time with newfound adoration. I'll end here before I devolve into any further fanboy tropes. The album is about 7 Euro for digital on bandcamp, but the lovely artwork warranted my purchase through the German label on Discogs. Help a brotha out, eh?


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Production: 9

Written by flightoficarus | 23.03.2015




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 10   Visited by: 64 users
27.03.2015 - 01:31
Nethrakh

Just listened it

mind blown
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27.03.2015 - 01:40
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Good album but nowhere near classic status.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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19.07.2015 - 05:15
Lord_Regnier

A great album. I like the variation between tracks.
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"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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19.07.2015 - 07:32
Rating: 10
flightoficarus
Stamp Tramp
Written by Lord_Regnier on 19.07.2015 at 05:15

A great album. I like the variation between tracks.


Indeed, this is still in regular rotation for me. Check out my site MetalTrenches.com for more daily underground stuff. So much good, undiscovered music out there.
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Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches.
Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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19.07.2015 - 07:41
Lord_Regnier

Written by flightoficarus on 19.07.2015 at 07:32

Written by Lord_Regnier on 19.07.2015 at 05:15

A great album. I like the variation between tracks.


Indeed, this is still in regular rotation for me. Check out my site MetalTrenches.com for more daily underground stuff. So much good, undiscovered music out there.


Thanks. I will check the site as soon as I have enough time.
About this album, I'm much more a Black Metal fan than a Death Metal one, so I prefer when vocals are more Black Metal. This album, however, has lots of variation also in vocals, so the more Death Metal sections don't bother me at all.
Anyway, I like some Death Metal vocals. It's just that I'm more picky when it comes to growls than Black Metal vocals.
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"Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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03.09.2015 - 19:53
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
That's quite the opening paragraph. It's blackened death metal, except that it's not, it's symphonic black, like Satyricon, Marduk and Sacramentum. Except none of those are symphonic black metal if memory serves (nor blackened death, aside from perhaps Sacramentum). I think you got it right in the first sentence =P

Coming back to this now I never realised how atrocious the production is. Everything is so forward and flat in the mix, it's actually quite fatiguing. Musically it's not a patch on Cult of Fire either. Has its moments here and there though but a full album's worth is a bit too much. Maybe they'll get a remix of it out in the future.
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03.09.2015 - 20:32
Zap
Guest
I doubt they'll be remixing it since the latest CoF EP also had atrocious production. They seem to really like this "let's demolish your ears as hard as we can" approach nowadays. I just hope the next CoF album sounds better, but I'm pretty pessimistic. Chances are the music will at least be better than this though.
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03.09.2015 - 20:40
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
That's a shame, I still haven't gotten around to listening to that CoF EP yet.
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04.09.2015 - 18:54
Rating: 10
flightoficarus
Stamp Tramp
Written by Guest on 03.09.2015 at 20:40

That's a shame, I still haven't gotten around to listening to that CoF EP yet.


Glad have you back, you picky bastard.
----
Daily underground metal recommendations at Metal Trenches.
Watch metal content on the Metal Trenches YouTube Channel.
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05.09.2015 - 00:26
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by flightoficarus on 04.09.2015 at 18:54

Glad have you back, you picky bastard.

Thanks!
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