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A tease of an intro with some bland, simpler songs scattered about.-
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| Ominous Crucifix: The Spell of Damnation |
Death Metal
FDA Rekotz
February 6th, 2012
- Third Day Resurrection - 3:02
- Putrid Purity - 7:05
- Primitive Sin - 3:57
- Defiling the Altars of an Absent God - 5:43
- Secular Omens of Doom - 6:06
- Church of Death - 1:39
- The Spell of Damnation - 6:27
- Repulsive Sanctification of the Absurd - 4:37
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| Review Information |
Release length: 38:35
Review posted on January 2nd, 2012
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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): |
The Spell of Damnation (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Relics of a Dead Faith (2009)
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| Split(s): |
On This Land Evil Dwells (2009)
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| Single(s): |
Decadent Religious Archetype (2008)
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| Review |
Ominous Crucifix formed back in 2007, and back then worked diligently issuing new material on their own. The Mexican Death Metal group released their first demo back in 2008, followed by a split and an EP release one year after. Since then though, there has been silence. The band had never called it a day, but rather seemed to be biding their time before finally finding a home with FDA Rekotz. This lead the way to the studio and found the band recording their debut eight song full-length album, The Spell of Damnation. But, is that spell being cast upon themselves, or those daring enough to listen to their dark material?
It's as if the band had taken some ques from the underground Black Metal world when it came to the material recorded, and the final outcome of it all for The Spell of Damnation, and that becomes one of its biggest perks. The overall sound here feels very raw, and while it's clear that the music is meant to be a little more blunt, you can't argue that there is a decent sharpness to the guitars, as well as a bit of a venomous aggression incorporated into the crushing sound of the material. This also helps considering that this release doesn't feel like there's a good amount of enthusiasm, having a very serious and blunt approach to the music. The bass works in the final product as being loud enough to keep it grounded and add to the overall heavy atmosphere of the release with a louder thud to the bass kicks to help it along, though they seem to be a bit lost in the mix. The same goes for the snares, though clearly a little louder in tone and, when handled with a little more vigor, such as during "Defiling the Altars of an Absent God," become a little more noticeable, unlike the cymbals that are much louder and obvious in the mix, giving off a slight echo that gives the whole thing a rather creepy tone on top of the already sinister sound. The latter of those two are just reaffirmed thanks to the more distant vocal performance of gutturals that aren't really too deep, but also have a decent range to them that is very fitting to the atmosphere, as well as finds some distortion used here and there for added effect.
While some songs are clearly meant to be more serious, it's those songs that also end up being a little less impressive, having more of a robotic feel to them in the sense that the band has done it before and doesn't really feel like revisiting old wounds despite having to in the first place. But you really wouldn't get that from the way this effort starts. The screaming declaration at the start of "Third Day Resurrection" that clearly is an audio sample layered over some creepy ambience sets a tone that the song manages to capitalize on nicely. The track itself feels far more grand, having an epic touch to it that grabs your attention immediately. The music is loud here, pushing the layered vocals back in the mix so that the echo effect, or what sounds it from that studio technique already mentioned gives off a ghoulish underground Black Metal touch to the atmosphere. This actually ends up being more of an introduction than a real song, and it's sad considering how amazing it is. Sadly none of the other songs here really match this song, leaving the listener's expectations set a bit too high for what the band offers up immediately after.
You can tell that Ominous Crucifix really does try to bring that epic sound into their music, but it just doesn't work out half the time. The biggest example ends up being "Primitive Sin." This track really does try to take a grander approach in the music, especially in the chord productions, benefitting nicely from the rawer production of the album to make it more prominent than the darker, sinister tone many of the tracks have. Unfortunately, this is one of those songs that simply doesn't have a good deal of enthusiasm behind it, and it the entire song, aside the vocals for the most part, just sounds a bit robotic and bland. It doesn't help that the material here is just too simple, the polar opposite of other tracks like "Defiling the Altars of an Absent God" which just come off a little more energetic and have some better material that doesn't quite come off as repetitive or simple. There's a few more tracks that are as enjoyable as this one, such as "The Spell of Damnation" and, to an extent, even the closing track "Repulsive Sanctification of the Absurd," but overall there isn't a lot of meaty tracks to sink your teeth into, ranging from ok to a little too simple.
Two things about this release that stand out are the appropriate audio samples that are a bit disturbing at times, and the track lengths. "Defiling the Altars of an Absent God" starts with a woman being whipped by a man who forces her to recite the "Our Father" prayer the whole time, pointing out that a heretic had taught her differently. This actually suits the lyrical tone of the album, and the somewhat disturbing audio sample really brings you back to the medieval days of religion, going hand in hand with the rawer sound of the recording. But, there's also the length of some tracks to consider as well. In some cases, these lengths do a good job at keeping the listener attentive, though the music in some cases can be a bit too simple, acting like a double-edged sword. "Putrid Purity" goes on for just over seven minutes, and while it doesn't quite retain that epic tone "Third Day Resurrection" had, it still makes for a good Death Metal song that stays consistent from start to finish with enough going on to keep the listener's attention. The same can be said for the title track "The Spell of Damnation," which has more of a groove behind it that leads the song to be a bit more catchy than others, but still finds some simpler music pushing the track along.
The Spell of Damnation is a good Death Metal outing, and a pleasant surprise for a debut recording. There really isn't anything too wrong with it outside of a couple of songs that just don't have the same kind of impact you would expect, thanks largely to simpler compositions and lack of a strong groove or rhythm to head bang along to. But, when Ominous Crucifix does manage to throw a little more enthusiasm into the mix, as well as material that feels a little more technical, the effort starts to grow on you. It's sad that the group fails horribly to really take advantage of the really epic first track of the release, and that becomes one of the biggest letdown of the release. But, there's still a good amount of material that is enjoyable enough to warrant at least sampling some of the material.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
FDA Rekotz
via Clawhammer PR. |
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