Deteriorot is an American death metal band, whose beginnings go back to 1990, when Mortuary changed the name for Deteriorot. I'm not quite sure if Deteriorot was active for the whole time of the 90's, but you could see that after some demos and couple of 7" EPs they had a longer break until 2001, when "In Ancient Beliefs" was unleashed through Repulse Records. Later it was re-released by Blackened and also Xtreem Music, who did this new remastered version with new, but much better artwork.
I have to say that however little appreciated Deteriorot seems to be, "In Ancient Beliefs" is a killer album and for me it belongs to the best US death metal released of its time. With its quality and shredding death metal brutality, it can stand proudly aside to Incantation and Immolation. And that is the best recommendation, I think. What I especially like about this album and Deteriorot music in general is how they could combine that most massive, brutal and crushing death metal with a lot of doomy riffs and atmosphere and more so, with some occasional melodic parts, which can even bring some Swedish bands to my mind (like Eternal Darkness, Dismember and so on). Hmm, one song is even called "Eternal Darkness" haha. For me there couldn't be a greater combination and the fact that Deteriorot really came up with such a quality material (which was written over many years and demos) is a remarkable fact.
You could easily think that the title song for instance has been influenced by "Dawn of Possession", while the beginning of "Unholy Return" gives you a goose skin with killer "Swedish" patterns. And it's like that through the entire album. There are plenty of killer, even memorable, riffs, good dose of violent, crushing stuff... I love the gloomy atmosphere and arrangements, which are pretty traditional for the old school death metal - but that's exactly how I like it to be. The production is not flawless, but I like its harshness and that vibe similar to early 90's US death metal recordings. Definitely the entire album deserves attention and classic status. If you’ve never had a chance to hear it, get it asap.
Standout tracks: "Unholy Return", "Fallen Misery", "Eternal Darkness"
Verdict: 85/100
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