Core of Despair

These Finnish lads started out back in 1990, but I guess they took a break for quite some years since this is their first release since 1994 (I think). They’ve definitely changed since then as well (I know this ‘cause their demos have been included as a bonus), going from a more brute brutal death metal style to a tad groovier old school. And they surely took their time recording this, starting back in 2004 and finishing in 2007.

I did mention the groove, and groove is a huge part of "Core of despair". There’s plenty of room for rhythmic headbanger-friendly sections blended in with the otherwise quite brutal hammering. It’s not overly blasting, but the drummer definitely gets to show off his talents as a madman behind the kit. The sometimes chugging, sometimes technical riffing, combined with the masterful drumming, draws the listener into a state of rhythmic nodding and stomping along, allowing the growls to grab hold of your spine and snap it in half. And I mean that; this is some powerful stuff.

Garcharot have combined the early Swedish death metal á la Nihilist with the American scene of Morbid Angel and Deicide. This serves as a magnificent mixture of blasting, brutality and groove. But the album’s not all "Core of despair", as both "The art of dark desires" and "Cradle of sorrow" demos from 1994 comes up afterwards. Here the sound is much more crude, and the music takes on a much more brutal approach (well, after a psychotic intro, that is). Gory death metal tunes with harsh growls that should satisfy the fan of old school goregrind as well. And then the album ends with a different recording of "Holy communion perversities", taken from an old compilation. I hope they’ll keep releasing albums, ‘cause this one is a killer.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net