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Like being at a wine tasting convention.-
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| Miasmal: Miasmal |
Death Metal
Dark Descent Records
April 15th, 2011
- Mesmerized - 5:10
- Equinox 432 - 4:18
- Blissful Cannonades - 3:55
- We Will Live Forever - 4:12
- Mists - 4:41
- Toxic Breed - 3:57
- Death Mask - 4:43
- Chronicles - 5:52
CD Version:
- Creation of Fire - 4:08
- Bionic Godhead Erase - 5:28
- Abduction of the Soul - 3:11
- Kallocain - 4:47
- Apocalypse Legion - 3:47
- Anima Sola - 4:28
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| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 1:02:51
Review posted on April 12th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 6.5/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Miasmal (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Miasmal (2010)
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| Demo(s): |
Miasmal (2008)
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| Review |
Miasmal is a Death Metal act from Sweden that formed back in 2007. Over the years, the band has only issued a demo and a self-financed EP. However, this was enough to make some of the underground labels take notice, and Miasmal found a home with Detest Records and Dark Descent Records, the latter issuing the CD version of their full-length debut album, Miasmal. While a vinyl pressing will be made available through Detest Records, the CD version comes chock full of bonus material in a manner that many fans of Metal absolutely love from labels, and that's to include the previous demo material. Clocking in at over an hour of new recordings, their Miasmal EP and Miasmal demo (see a trend?) this recording is packed to the brim with Death Metal, but is it solid enough to actually warrant a purchase on the grounds other then the total length of the album?
Because of the inclusion of the band's previous material, the Miasmal debut full-length is pretty much seperated into three parts. The first part of the album is eight newly recorded tracks that did not appear on the band's demo or EP, which is great right from the start. The material has a raw production to it, being very muddy and feeling a little heavier then normal, but not necessarily with the music itself, but in the quality of the recording. The music itself is very deep, thanks to the quality and the distortion utilized on the instruments, and feels bass driven. However, the distortion on the guitars feels a little too much like just noise at times, such as with "We Will Live Forever", coming off a bit too high at times and clashing with the deeper production and driving bass of the album. Miasmal has a rather crushing feeling, but for the most part, the music isn't really anything that substantial, coming off as a cross between some Swedish Death Metal traditions and more of a typical underground Death Metal effort, moreso the first then the latter at times, that is working more towards creating a brutal, commanding atmosphere. There's no real bite to the music that will make the listener want to immediately start a mosh pit, or even just start punching the closest thing, living or dead, and in sometimes can feel a little washed out. "Equinox 432" is a good example of this, as the music often sounds like it's shifting slightly between the left and right speakers, though the same thing is being played and there's really no reason. To someone with a tin ear, it probably won't show through, but to someone sensitive enough to such things, it's easy to pick up on the slight shifts to the music in that song.
With that being said, there's no way one can listen to this CD and just not find it to be a solid Death Metal recording. While the music isn't as gripping as it could be for the style, the band does manage to put together some good tracks that, while not necessarily offering anything new, are quite enjoyable for what they are. Some songs have a bit of a groove to them, such as "Blissful Cannonades", which also has some haunting background guitar effects that sound great and make the chorus of the song really stand out and become a little more unique then something you could quickly compare to Bloodbath. Aside that, you also have the much faster and chaotic sounding cuts like "Equinox 432", which starts off with a blistering opening that could instantly start a moshpit for the group live, and on the CD it's not bad and will make the listener's blood boil a little more then usual, but the urge to start a pit on the spot just doesn't seem to exist with this recording. This tends to be one of the main problems with the release, while the music is actually good and heavy, the urge to throwdown wherever you are, or even just involuntarily headbang to the music doesn't really seem to be there thanks to the thick quality of the album.
One of the tracks that genuinely stands out here is "We Will Live Forever", as the song is just a fast paced furious mosh anthem basically. The music is heavy and really just pounds away at the listener with a great deal of intensity that the distortion levels on the guitar work. The solos that appear in the song are fantastic too, despite how short the last one is at the end of the song. This is one of the few that will have you headbanging against your will instead of have you sitting there appreciating the album as if it were some kind of fine wine at a tasting. Again, the higher distortion does kind of hurt the song though, as it does clash when the guitar is so prominent, and thanks to how loud the guitars are in the first place, it can actually become quite obnoxious at times outside the solo. "Mists" is another great track, and it starts with some pretty clear guitars that are actually rather clean and really sound somber until the actual music starts, which unfortunately just comes off as noise until that clean guitars are done. The rest of the song is quite enjoyable however, and is easily one of the better tracks thanks to it's controlled faster pace that doesn't go too overboard with the guitar work, leaving a decent combination of the distortion and the bass driven sound of intense Swedish Death metal.
Following the new eight tracks for their debut full-length, the band's self-titled EP continues the fun, and it actually winds up being a better production then the new recordings. The quality is still raw and feels a little more hollow then the full, rich sound of the new songs, but the distortion levels are where they should be, not cranked up so high that they clash with the deeper bass elements of the songs. The bass kicks on the drum kit, however, do feel a little muffled, but they still wind up working in the long run. As soon as "Creation of Fire" kicks in, it's literally like night and day, and "Bionic Godhead Erase" makes for a fantastic traditional Swedish Death Metal track that is catchy, and will have you headbanging in no time. It's great to have these available as bonus tracks considering the initial EP was released as a limited piece of five hundred pressed.
Finally, the last part of the album is the band's self-titled demo recording. This one, again, is a little more raw compared to the rest, but it's much clearer, and really captures the guitars well with the perfect amount of distortion. The vocals are a little more echoed here as well, and the background guitar chords played here and there share the same kind of echo effect, but it really just makes the tracks stand out a little more. Right from the start of "Abduction of the Soul", you'll be hooked and looking to start a mosh with it's intense groovey Swedish Death Metal ways that will instantly hook the listener by the throat and refuse to let go. This essentially sums up the four tracks that close this CD, as well as make up the demo tape recording. It's also a little depressing that these, and the two EP tracks, are far more enjoyable and intense then the songs composed for the full-length, but luckily that's more the fault of the final mix quality then the band and the music, as these songs show the band definitely brings a great sense of intensity and catchiness with them. However, "Anima Sola" really shows the band's potential well with it's intense, commanding, and brutalizing Death Metal that just lays right into the listener at a fast pace and such a bludgeoning atmosphere that it sums up the album perfectly, and the overall sound of this group that could have been the eight newly recorded tracks.
It's not an uncommon thing in the music world for a demo or self-financed release to sound better then a release from a major label, and sadly that becomes the case with the full-length Miasmal. While the first eight tracks on the CD, which is the entire vinyl pressing as well, a solid Death Metal tracks the listener can sit down and enjoy, the quality of the final mix leaves a good amount to be desired. There's no real bite to the music, and that seems to really be thanks to the distortion being too loud and too much that it comes off more as simple noise at times. It's great to see the band's demo and EP coupled with this release, especially given that that those two releases are out of print, and the fact that those songs are actually far more enjoyable with the way the final mix and recording was handled. All in all, it's not a terrible album, but it's not something that will make you feel tense or want to start a mosh in any way. This is more of a "sit back and take it all in" kind of release, and for that, the additional tracks, and given it's faults, it does a good job of being a solid Swedish Death Metal effort you can kick back and enjoy.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Dark Descent Records
via Clawhammer PR.
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