Engulfed by the Swarm

I first came across Polterchrist on a metal website called black metal radio. I had first heard the song, "The Battle" of Engulfed by the Swarm courtesy of that sight and I thought I'd give these guys a listen. I mean with a name like Polterchrist it sounded very promising. I then set forth on trying to locate this album. It proved very difficult however, I was eventually able to get my hands on it.

The first thing that struck me about this album is the technically demanding guitar work. On this record Polterchrist seem to have a knack for complex harmonics, take a look at "Terminal" for example. The harmonics found in that solo are absolutely mesmerizing. Also, the solo that is within the first minute of this track has to be one of my personal favourites in all of death metal.

Another thing that struck a chord with me is how relentless the drumming sounds on this release. It switches from blistering fast black metal like blasts, to expertly timed double kicking that is both fast and technical.

One thing I find odd with this record is the weird use of samples in their songs. The battle scene in the closing track "The Battle" the strange techno inspired intro to "The Art of Ferocity" and the ere calm that builds into "Terminal" Absolutely strange yet interesting at the same time.

This album is definitely a far cry from a metalcore release. It is definitely worth a listen for any fan of technical or melodic death metal, or for someone who is looking to add something that is truly unique to their death metal collection.

The problem with a band like Polterchrist is not that they are bad, it isn’t even the atrocious album cover art or the silly name, it’s simply that they don’t really need to exist. They’re part of an oversaturated genre and they don’t have anything particularly new or exciting to say in it. That’s not to say they aren’t all competent musicians. They just don’t have anything that makes them more necessary than the next band.

I picked up Engulfed by the Swarm at a local resale shop, because with a name like Polterchrist and an album cover that has giant bees swarming a city (sounds more awesome than it looks) I couldn’t resist. Unfortunately, while it wasn’t quite as silly as it appeared, it also isn’t exceptional in any way. The performances are solid, the production is fine, but the songwriting lacks what it needs to tear you away from better albums. Polterchrist isn’t a purely typical death metal band, they accent the music with other thrash and black metal influences, as well as some clean vocals and little electronic bits, but these extras most often feel like distractions rather than meaningful additions. The album works best when the band finds a good riff to tear into, but that isn’t nearly as often as you’d like, and too often the less appealing moments take up and make you wish you were listening to a band with a bit more focus. I want to like this band more than I do, there are worse things to listen to and many of those things are hugely popular at the moment, but I have no reason to return to this album. None of the songs or riffs are particularly impressive or memorable (with the exception of the riff in Alone that sounds just like Morbid Angel). And unfortunately for the band, even total death fiends who would otherwise be able to enjoy the band despite this could easily be turned off by the silly electronic moments or the questionable addition of the processed clean vocals. Without the additions, what’s left is simply standard death metal that isn’t nearly as captivating as something else you could be listening to.

If you can’t get enough extreme metal, there are tons of other albums you can go to. But if you aren’t particularly picky and you like a bit of variety in your death metal, Polterchrist might just have enough twists and turns to entertain you.