Liste der Bands Death Metal Gorephilia Ascend to Chaos

With a name like Gorephilia, I initially consciously avoided this EP, thinking that this was going to be yet another of those goregrind or brutal death metal band. Not to say that such bands aren't good, but rather these are genres that have never been able to catch my ears. I was surprised then, when listening to Ascend to Chaos, the band's first EP since their formation in 2006, presented to me some legit, old school death metal.

Martial sounding drums and crazed and frantic howling in the background greets the listener as the album opens with Intro before a trebly riff begins, giving listeners a sense of unease. With Death, Chaos, Doom, Gorephilia begins their onslaught proper with the deep, throaty growls of vocalist Henu. Unlike many other death metal bands today, Ascend to Chaos moves at a slower pace, focussing on the heaviness and aggressiveness in the music instead of speed, evident right from the first riffs of Death, Chaos, Doom. At times the music slows down to a doom pace, reminiscent of other death/doom metal bands like Japan's Coffins. The slowdown at the middle of the track also ups the already ominous and heavy atmosphere in the music before a guitar solo begins, nothing fancy yet manages to maintain the dreadful mood in the music. Such dark atmosphere and the heavily palm-muted, trem picked riffs also bring to mind bands such as Incantation and their brand of old school death metal.

The track that really got me hooked though has to be Give in to Madness, and the band certainly gives listeners a reason to "give in to madness" as they seem to go into a frenzy on this track, with the exceptionally energetic performance on the individual instruments, and breaks the usual slow pace that they have crafted their art with, with the first 2 proper tracks. There is a certain sense of frantic and panic throughout the song, with the trebly trem-picked riffs and the urgent drumming on the track, leaving listeners with the feeling of being hung over the cliff, yet helpless to do anything to reverse the situation.

Drummer Tommi is also not neglected as he provides the pace and rhythm for the rest of the band with his constant and heavy punishing hits on his kit, contrasting the slow riffs by the strings section with quick and steady footwork on the double bass drums, such as on Reaching the Divine End. His speedy drumming style is even more evident on Give in to Madness. The crisp and clear drum tones additionally increases overall enjoyment of the songs. The balanced mix of all instruments also ensure that no instrument is left out and all instruments are equally emphasised, including the rumbling bass lines that are constantly at the background, providing the low end growl of the music for a fuller sound.

One thing that could have potentially dragged down this short EP though, is the inclusion of the interlude, Ascend to Chaos on the album. With a release with a run time that is already this short (less than 30 minutes), having almost 3 minutes wasted on an interlude could have spoiled the mood a little. While the intentions of such an interlude could be to further enhance the overall experience of the EP, I would have personally preferred if the band had included another proper song instead. This is made up with the closing track, the 7 minute Tower of Bones, displaying the versatility of the band and is a nice display of the style of death metal Gorephilia plays. However, credit is due as the band manages to fuse and link all tracks on the album seamlessly, making Ascend to Chaos an enjoyable release overall.