Eve of Desecration

One of the earlier US bands to jump into the black metal market in the 90s, Illinois' Ezurate demo'd about for a few years before finally turning in their debut Infernal Dominatio at the turn of the century. That album was forgettable, the follow-up Blasphemous Hierarchy (in 2007) slightly less so, but it seems with Eve of Desecration they might have finally hit their stride in a balance of aggressive, 90s black metal aesthetics that verify tradition without simply trying to rip off their influences riff for riff. The sound here is obviously being drawn from such sources as Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse, Dimmu Borgir's Stormblast or Born of the Flickering by Old Man's Child, but you can also hear a parallel to the steady outburst of the Swedish melodic black metal manifested by Dissection, Setherial, Dark Funeral and Lord Belial.

Thus, there is a touch of a graceful and occult Romantic atmosphere to offset the oft blasting mayhem, and thankfully this balance helps the album to escape what could have been its crippling flaw, a 65 minute play length distributed over 15 tracks (four of which are brief intro/interlude/outro pieces). To their credit, Ezurate are older and wiser enough to pack in a scathing enough atmosphere and enough decent (if not exceptional) riffs that I simply could not feel the length of the overall work, though there were few individual tracks which screamed out to me for an instant replay. I would also point out that the band use no 'gimmicks' to cultivate the listener's favor. This is traditional black metal with roots borne straight of the 90s, and a mix that is also comparable, so if you're searching for something exceedingly primal and cult, or overtly brutal and modernist, you are unlikely to find that here.

Like many of the better albums of its breed, Eve of Desecration manages to spit anti-Christian sacrilege forth while conjuring epic mindscapes of archaic ruins, full moon mayhem and an almost oppressive, Transylvanian horror atmosphere behind its rolling woodlands and mist shrouded mountains. However, lyrically its themes revolve around the tearing down of the questionable moral systems that have forever embedded our world in roiling stupidity. Songs like "Creed of the False Prophet", "Salvation Denied" and "The Black Cross of Berziers" revel in their winding riffing patterns and the stock rasping of vocalist Holocausto Inferni, though my personal favorites on this album would be the hellish onslaught of "Overthrown Deity" the plotted elegance of "Invocation of the Seven Gates", and the bleeding black landscape across which the "Metamorphosis of a Lycan" transpires.

Unlike many of its peers, Ezurate does not rely on keyboards to braise the listener in the swell of sinister moonlight. This is a guitar band and almost all layers of atmosphere are created through the forward momentum of the string slinging, without any lack of dimensionality. That they are able to consistently hammer this into your skull for over an hour without becoming a repetitious mess is nothing short of a wonder, though I can't vouch for many distinct riffs that revel in any semblance of nuance. If high paced, traditional, Norse and Swedish melodic 90s black metal appeals to you, like In the Nightside Eclipse, Storm of the Light's Bane or Secret of the Black Arts, then it's likely you will appreciate this USBM band's honoring of the legacy.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I have a rather iffy relationship with this entity known as "USBM". Seemingly a solitary creature in its own right, it’s hard to find good bands amidst the ever-increasing oil spill of Vikernes worshipping, "Transilvanian Hunger" clones that take their unholy war WAY too seriously, and when some of the biggest representatives of the style are dreck groups like NACHTMYSTIUM, XASTHUR and KRIEG you know you’re in trouble. But every once in a while you’ll find a group that stands out in terms of overall skill and enjoyability.

One such band is EZURATE.

Rather than taking the approach so many modern black metal acts go for (who come off more like Billy and Mandy than Grim and Evil), EZURATE tackle the faster, more caustic "norsecore" approach ala MARDUK, vintage SETHERIAL and DARK FUNERAL, to name check a few. Their earlier material, from "Infernal Dominatio" to "Blasphemous Hierarchy", shot straight from the speakers with a malevolent violence that’s so lacking in black metal acts in this day and age. And when it comes to this, the long-awaited "Eve of Desecration", EZURATE continue their tried-and-true violent path, but with an apparent increase of skill, melody and maturity that comes with being part of a local music scene for as many years as they, easily giving us their best album yet. That which has been as fantastic in years past, the dark and bitter riffing, the monstrous blast-beats, the SLAYER-while-speedballing leads and solos, the dark and brooding acoustics and the wickedly, impure vocals evoke the frightening atmosphere of a one-time Satanic/Norse dominion (back when black metal was REAL) with plenty of newer ideas in tow (better arrangements, slower passages, and even some eerie synth-work in the opening track) to make for plentiful future listens, where songs like "Invocation of the Seven Gates", "Noctem Eternus" and "For I Am Thee Almighty" beat the ever-loving shit out all who would dare give these guys a listen without any earlier experience. Such a hard-nosed performance and existence is to be vilified, as they REALLY don’t make black metal like this anymore. A damn shame, if you ask me.

So in the end the new EZURATE is a fantastically evil work of art. It’s this listener’s recommendation that you bypass all that typical USBM nonsense and stick with these guys for your blasphemous listening pleasures. Two horns WAY THE FUCK up.