Realm of Ecstacy

Similar to bands like Sarcofago, Dead Head, and early incarnations of Sepultura, Thanatos has a sound that’s difficult to pin down. Thrash rhythms with death growls might not check all the boxes of either genre it blends, but this is generally a formula for success, and Realm of Ecstasy is certainly no exception. Building off of the lofi-recorded, pseudo-prog deathrash they exhibited on Emerging from the Netherworlds, the Netherlands quartet refined their approach and sharpened the guitar tone to deliver another thrilling gem in their discography.

Beginning with the assault on “And Jesus Wept” and the complex riffing on “Tied Up, Sliced Up,” it’s clear from the get-go that these guys mean business. Ed Boeser routinely chimes in with thick bass licks underneath the hazy guitars, but his playing is more pronounced thanks to the major improvements in the production department. Vocalist Stephan Gebédi also benefits from the clarity of the recording, allowing his growls to fully take over later tracks like the monstrous “Terminal Breath.” But beyond just the better production, the band sounds more cohesive and even seems to add a wider array of influences to their arsenal- with some riffs stemming from prog thrash-era Voivod and emotional guitar solos a la Marty Friedman. But don’t be confused; this is most definitely death metal, even more so than the debut.

The slower tempos certainly extract some of the thrashiness of this album, but they’re often beautifully juxtaposed with a lightning-quick set of riffs, like on the brilliant title track. The guitar soloing, too, lives and breathes throughout the record, culminating in a masterful, evocative lead performance on “In Praise of Lust.” It’s the band’s ability to bend their style seemingly on a whim that gives this album such a unique feel, and even when they fall closer to home on standard death metal tropes, they still execute at a very high level. “Perceptual Misery” is a solid highlight where the band follows a more typical approach and the result is still nails.

So, while the band generally operates in mid-tempo and the excellent death growls almost assuredly push this album firmly into the death metal category, Thanatos’s second album remains criminally underrated for a year (1992) that is generally seen as the down year of death metal’s peak. A-list production, novel song ideas, and exuberant lead guitar are the prized features of this record, but the riffs are strong, the vocals are strong, and the thrashy rhythm section will certainly make your head spin in between the doomy segues.

In order to survive, changing from thrash to death metal seemed like a logical step in the early 90’s, yet Thanatos would split up in the same year that Realm of Ecstasy saw the light of day. Perhaps, then, it did not matter what kind of swansong the band had ended with, or did it?

On the surface, it seems that Thanatos function as your trustworthy old fashioned death metal band at this point. The scratchy guitars tone of Emerging from the Netherworlds (or Netherlands… ha-ha) has been replaced by a resonant guitar tone that makes each riff sound bright and clear, while Stephan Gebedi’s throaty yells have evolved into a growl that comes straight from the belly. Stylistically, you could argue that Thanatos sound rather unoriginal when compared to the adventurous death metal acts that dared to explore unknown territories, but let’s not forget that this era was also marked by bands that did not settle for anything special at all (think of the Dutch Burial, who were basically a mix of early Death and Massacre). It’s just that Thanatos become more creative once they slow down and while plenty of tunes feature noteworthy slower passages, ‘Terminal Breath’ points this out best; with distorted howls that promise the end of times and its apocalyptic guitar work, the result is something along the lines of ‘South of Heaven’, if only it was written by Brutality instead of Slayer.

The rest sounds slightly more ordinary at times, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With a maniacal rollercoaster of a riff, ‘And Jesus Wept’ almost recalls a simplistic take on early Suffocation, although the guitars manage to ring and slow down with creepy effects. ‘In Praise of Lust’ is a dangerous riff-ride, with a whirlwind of a main motif and some gusto military-like rhythms in between. The title track manages to evoke the same feeling of ‘Terminal breath’, yet occasionally turns into a laboratory thrasher; somewhat reminiscent of Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains and you can bet that it’s another superb tune.

Annoyingly enough, plenty of tracks are plagued by filler riffs and this makes Realm of Ecstasy a bit of a frustrating listen. ‘Mankind’s Rebirth’ starts off with some alarming chugging and while you will encounter a nifty tremolo riff that becomes a sign of relief, none of the riffs in between work leave much of an impression behind. ‘Perpetual Misery’ may start with a slamming riff that demands your attention right away, but quickly starts to lose it once it alternates between some plodding motives that serve little purpose and been-there-done-that faster riffs. ‘Human Combustion’ falls somewhere between the unorthodox sound of early Pestilence and Terrible Certainty-era Kreator, yet becomes a tad too generic once it tries to kick into high gear with its upgraded death metal riffs. It’s a shame, because the puzzling riffs in between are some of the best ones on the record, yet the final result is a bit of a letdown.

Criticism aside, anyone who likes to expand their death metal collection and is already familiar with the classics, could safely pick Realm of Ecstasy up. It's good for what it is and also marks an improvement over Emerging from the Netherworlds (note: never make the same joke twice).

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

There are many injustices in metal. Popularity is no metric for quality, nor is critical acclaim; after all a vast chunk of ‘critics’ are clueless hacks with scant insight into the music they are tasked with dissecting, paid for by whatever shallow music mags are still feasting off the music as a monetised commodity. But don’t despair, for we know you’re there, you quiet (and not so quiet) worker bees of the underground, with your modest following and b-tier credentials. For every Cannibal Corpse or In Flames that inexplicably floats to the top we will sing the praises of a Thanatos that should’ve risen higher in the public eye; which is precisely what I intend to do now.

Thanatos are a long-standing pillar of Dutch metal. Whilst their work is predominantly bedded into a thrash metal foundation, there is no shortage of creativity and fresh ideas in their back catalogue. Their debut, ‘Emerging from the Netherworlds’ (1990) was an energetic and catchy thrash metal album with one foot in death and a distinctive melodic sensibility. Follow-up – 1992’s ‘Realm of Ecstasy’ – is a work of patience and restraint by comparison. We are of course talking in context here, this is still fast and hard music, exemplifying Thanatos’ odd ability to throw in catchy riffs and solos almost effortlessly and without the listener even noticing a bump in the road when it comes to sonic continuity.

But the structures of these tracks are more developed, they take their time unfolding, they utilise the simple virtues of contrast to great effect. This is all the more impressive given the fundamental constraint placed on ‘Realm of Ecstasy’, namely that the production is a little weak. The guitar tone is serviceable certainly, but the drums sounds a little flat, and to compensate too much reverb has been used. This means that in the faster passages the snare is at times in danger of overpowering everything. Nevertheless, a fine album shines through from this dry, sun-baked soil.

So back to the structure. Much like Krabathor of the same era, there is no esoteric mystery as to why this music is so engaging; what you are witnessing is the honest nuts and bolts of good composing. Most tracks give the initial impression of being short lived death/thrash numbers played at a rippingly fast pace, but they quickly take a left turn with a slow breakdown, patiently layered guitars that work their way through very hummable melodies, before gradually building the music back to its original pace. But prior to returning to the original themes of the track, Thanatos will take many more twists and turns through the corridors of their riffcraft before closing a track.

‘Realm of Ecstasy’ is one of those releases that makes me happy. One big reason for this is that it simply doesn’t settle down. You can turn off your mind and just let the fluidity and dynamism of Thanatos’ metal carry you along for the journey. They are not as frantic and restless as their more technical brethren, nor is the result a random and jagged playing field. But each track is packed full of unexpected developments that leave you in a completely different place by the close. It makes me happy because there really is no short-lived novelty or cheap trick behind this, just honest to god high quality metal with all the ambition that comes with the genre tag at its best.

Depending on your perspective this is an ‘also-ran’ of death metal’s heyday. But I feel that couching it in these terms is a little disheartening, as it is a fine album that deserves a place in history. ROE has its own character, a distinctive creativity, and a colour and life all its own. Although it is often side-lined when discussing Dutch metal in favour of the likes of Pestilence and Asphyx, it is every bit as deserving of a place in the history of this era.

Originally published at Hate Meditations

Why this band went totally under the radar is beyond me. This album is every bit as good as any other death metal release from the same era. Maybe it's because the band is from Holland? Who knows, but regardless, this is high quality death metal.

The songs are chock full of memorable moments and great riffs. The vocals are incredible, very deep and full, and while yeah, you can't understand what they're saying, but the lyrics really aren't important, they're stock death metal lyrics anyway.

Every track is high quality, from the relentless tracks like "Tied Up, Sliced Up" to the slower and awesomely heavy tracks like "Perpetual Misery". Every song has something to offer and always manages to keep your attention. Thanatos does their best to make sure they aren't boring you, and they do a good job at that.

The riffs, again, they're all very solid and memorable, and the ones that aren't so memorable still keep up the pounding and heavy feel. Unlike a lot of death metal bands from that era, we're actually spared a lot of the completely cheeseball sounding "filler" riffs that plague a lot of early Death and Cannibal Corpse songs for instance.

The production, there's really not much to say. It definitely sounds a lot more full than the debut, especially in the guitar tone department, but otherwise it's pretty nondescript. It's not going to blow you away, but it does its job well.

In all, this is a very solid album and it deserves a lot more recognition than it gets. Highly reccomended.