Torture Division is a Swedish Death Metal act that appears to enjoy doing things a little differently when it comes to recorded material. When you look at this three-pieces discography, you will start to see a pattern. Prior to their With Endless Wrath We bring Upon Thee Our Infernal Torture, the band issued three demos and a CD single, the single being the odd ball out here, as these releases were collected and issued on that very release. Once again, we find the band collecting their three demos that follow, which are simply Evighetens Dårar I - III, which makes the title of this demo compilation pretty obvious. But there happens to be a reason for all of this madness.
According to many articles available, Torture Division is a band that has a "free music" policy. All these tracks were made available on their website for free, never actually published, and included the artwork. So, why is it available for purchase through Abyss Records then? Well, according to information about the previous release, it is in an effort to gain the most exposure possible. The band owns the rights to the music still, not the label. The label doesn't even own the rights to the actual CD either. So, what this really boils down to is whether or not you want a physical property of the band, or if you're cheap and don't want to buy the disc. Either way, there is no shame on you, but one listen to the compilation factory press of Evighetens Dårar, and chances re good you'll want to buy it anyway. All three demos were mixed and mastered by Dan Swano, and you can really tell in the recording due to the signature quality that is typically linked to him, usually having a dark quality to the production that is just slightly raw, but still clear enough to that the vocals are understood, and the distortion doesn't get mangled as if it's like listening to a chord that just seems like it's been distorted from the start like some Swedish Death Metal acts sometimes issue, all making the performance sound as fierce as humanly possible, regardless of how poor it is, which in this case, it's far from poor to begin with.
For as much talent as Torture Division has on this release, it's hard to imagine that the band willingly records this material and gives it out, allowing the fans to do what they want with it. Evighetens Dårar is one of the finest Death Metal albums to come out in a long time, and there isn't a single bad song to be found on this recording. In fact, the further you get into the release, the stronger the music becomes. Much of the compilation is composed of fast paced material that just flows naturally from start to finish with a commanding presence. "Under Fire Command" is easily the most intense of the songs on the album, which is built up only by the previous songs, "The Axe Murderer" and "Righteous Fire Ensemble" slowly picking up the intensity with each track. The vocals are clear enough to be understood, yet the perfect pitch against the somewhat melodic and chaotic guitar chords and blasting drums, being very menacing and lyrically capturing exactly what Death Metal is all about.
Aside the general progression in intensity here and there, the music general transcends itself into other music styles. It's hard to ignore an ominous Napalm Death influence in some of the songs, sometimes even striking up on Napalm Death choruses, but without being a total rip off of the inspirational source. The more Grindcore and D-Beat influence lies within the speed of the music, which is blended seemlessly between the traditional Swedish Death Metal sound, holding a very menacing, melancholic melodic to the guitars, laced with punishing drums that have no problem matching the speed to the atmosphere they play, and merging nicely into blast beats that are executed perfectly and sound as intimidating as the vocals are from the start of the song until the very last word they utter in the song. While there's this nice combination of styles in the mix, there's also no denying the solid old-school approach that some of the material here contains. "Eld Och Plagor" is a candidate for that, having a much slower pace that carries a nice rhythm to it that is backed by strong rhythm guitars, both working together at times to put together an intense sound at the same speed that weakves a very haunting atmosphere. There also appears to be a breakdown in this song that would be similar to that of some of today's better off Deathcore bands, but suits the music nicely.
But, while the songs with that extra rhythm are fantastic and really stand out, there is no denying the Grindcore-based impact on the album stands as another solid foundation for the band. "Total Death Punishment" features some gang chants that appear briefly, fantastic blast beats, as well as drumming that equally keeps the pace of the faster guitars, all of which comes crushing down upon the listener with it's intensity. This is also the only song utilize some sound effects in the background, which is a very sinister laughter, but sounds more like a door opening. Of course, there's also "The Axe Murderer" which lasts only nine seconds in length. While it doesn't really do much, it winds up being rather enjoyable compared to some of the other Grindcore-based acts out there that issue albums with tracks that are as short as this.
Torture Division prove that some of the best things in life can truly be free, but if digital downloads aren't your thing, then Abyss Records answers your prayers with the band's Evighetens Dårar compilation. The songs presented on this release are fantastic, though they do wind up jumping around from one style to another quite a lot. The good thing about this jumping is that the band makes these jumps and transitions practically seemless and natural for the song, and the general intensity behind many of them matches the overall melancholic and intimidating atmosphere of the music being played by the band. If you haven't heard Torture Division yet, then there is absolutely no excuse. Free or not, this band, as well as this release/the demos the compose the release, are well worth looking into as soon as possible.
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