Terror of Thousand Faces

The circumstances related to the recording of "Terror Of Thousand Faces" caused Jarkko Rantanen's band so many obstacles that this lp...could not be released! Problems with funds, production, release (as many as 3 years after the disc was ready in 2002) or the line-up (this is nothing new) are roughly what happened at Adramelech after "Pure Blood Doom" was released. Interestingly, all these adversities did not come into an lp that was detached from the style of these Finns or brought another reduction in form. Contrary to widespread (and wrong - as I will prove in a moment) criticism, "Terror..." looks much better than its predecessor.

"Terror Of Thousand Faces" much more often returns to "overwhelming" regions, neatly referring to the stuffiness of "Psychostasia". And here we should praise first of all Jari Laine, who made a sensible gain from the previous album and managed to find a golden mean between the riffs from their debut and those from "Pure...". The filthy patents and the "overwhelming" atmosphere are back, and all of this was obtained with more brutality than in the days of Rantanen's vocals, and without any technical tricks. Of course, these elements are not as good as in the times of "Psychostasia", although "Terror..." really doesn't bother to give a low note, and such songs as "Book Of Flesh", "Bleeding For Supremacy", "Slain In" The Grace Of Thy Name" or "Orphica Holodemiurgia" (the most atmospheric and my definite top1 from this album) immediately captivate with their gloomy atmosphere and classic death metal sounds. Disadvantages are the occasional uniformity (especially at the beginning of the album), not very unique vocals by Marko Silvennoinen (although better than Ali anyway) and a bit weird production (especially the drums - less "juicy" than before). Generally, tiny of disadvantages and without obscuring the pluses, which are definitely not missing here.

Surprisingly, the uninteresting problems that affected Adramelech at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries did not come into a reduction of overall level. Well, the Finns on "Terror Of Thousand Faces" managed to record a very sensible, death metal album in their characteristic style. Unfortunately, the determination was not enough to continue. "Terror Of Thousand Faces" is Adramelech's last release for many years.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2022/06/adramelech-terror-of-thousand-faces-2005.html

On this, Adramelech's 3rd full length release, the band has abbandoned the realm of blackened death metal, and opted for a more basic approach to the death metal genre. The riffs are brutal, the drumming is fast, and the vocals are harsh. All you could want from a death metal album right? Hmm....

To me, this album is as generic as death metal can get. That's not to say, that this is ALL bad, but considering the band's previous releases, this comes as quite a disappointment. The song structures are heavily simplified, going from the classical influences of "PsychoStasia", to a focus on groove, and brutality. The energy is certainly there, but is this really offering anything new to the death metal genre?

The vocals are growled much like the vocals of a thousand albums before it, while the riffs seem to speed through the songs as if to say, "can we stop now? Seinfeld is on". The drumming is good, but once again, quite generic, and adds nothing to the songs.

The lyrics are focused on violence and war. Gee, no band has EVER done that before. Not only this, they are terribly cliched, and look like they were written by a death metal robot.

Overall, this is not a bad album, per se, but it has absolutely no originality to it whatsoever. Everything about it is completely generic, and is really nothing you haven't heard before by the countless numbers of death metal bands out there. If you like never-changing growled vocals, basic song structures, heavy riffs, and fast drumming, as well as ridiculous and cliched lyrics, go ahead and give this album a shot. Otherwise, stay away from it, Chances are, you've heard it before anyway.