I am very pleasantly surprised by this album, because I did not expect that Mallephyr - which I have quite rightly heard nothing about so far – would present anything what would be worth of more attention. Meanwhile, what these Czechs recorded on their debut album "Assailing the Holy" is a very decent and solid piece of death / black metal, which surprises with the level of composition, performance and strong production. While listening to "Assailing..." I have the impression that I am listening to rather old folks, because everything sounds mature and there is no way that you can describe this music with words like lame or underdeveloped.
It is not a long album - it only lasts 35 minutes. And that's good, because this is enough to show your worth and also crush the listener with the intensity of your music. And Mallephyr do not waste time. For example, such "The Service" or the title song with its energy and aggression should move even a deceased. And there are more similar, almost furious moments on "Assailing the Holy". Mallephyr music is not limited to one type of playing, however, there are many changes in tempos, from furious blasts to slow, melodious and almost melancholic parts. You can also hear quite a lot of death metal influences in this whole black metal skeleton, sometimes a bit like Behemoth from their middle period of activity (between albums "Pandemonic Incantations" and say "Demigod")... What does matter is that Mallephyr's music sounds fresh and strong and that these young gentlemen managed to compose interesting material that stands out above the average. Let the track "Anti-Human" prove it - probably my favourite on the whole album and at the same time the longest of the whole set. There is a lot going on in this track, it starts with a furious black metal attack, but after a while the pace drops sharply and the mood becomes a bit darker and monumental, in places even calm. What a great riffage there is!
However, there are more similar "moments" on the entire disc, so being on the nth listening session of "Assailing the Holy" I think that Mallephyr cannot really fault much. It is not an outstanding album, because it cannot be like that. It is not the first league of death and black metal, but there is something about these sounds that makes the listening to this CD an undisguised pleasure. So, I recommend this album to you without hesitation. Great stuff.
Standout tracks: “Anti-Human”, “The Service”
Verdict: 75/100
No comments:
Post a Comment