Tucked away in the midst of Dark Descent’s higher profile 2015 releases is this little gem from reformed 90s Netherlands act Eternal Solstice, who released 3 solid albums in the mid 90s. Founder, Ramon Soeterbroek and early member Mischa Hak (also of Sempiternal Deathreign back then) has recruited a couple of young bucks (notably ex Funeral Whore drummer Tim Roeper) to revive the band after splitting up in 1997, and the result is largely successful.

Even with a spruced up logo for 2015 and nastier sound, the core of the “Dutch” sound is intact from the 90s; chunky, beefy, controlled death metal with a tad of thrashing melody. It’s a similar sound played by the likes of country mates God Dethroned, early Gorefest, Asphyx, Stentorian and early Pestilence in the 90s as well as many of the closely related Belgian bands of that era (Caducity, Welkin, Crawlspace).  It’s not ground breaking or genre defying but it wasn’t meant to be then,  and isn’t now.

So those expecting some sort of typically  jaw dropping, cavernous death metal will be a bit disappointed if you went into this release blind and unaware of the band’s history. But what you do get is some rough n ready, chuggy, beefy, thrashing death metal with some cool riffs, groove and some deep, gruff bellows. It’s old school, but not the forced HM 2 Swedish kind, and with a little more modern sheen.

None of the tracks will blow you away, but as someone who had an affinity for the sound back in the mid 90s, I’m rather enjoying tracks like “Ritual Prey”, “Walk in Darkness”, “Encroaching Horde”, and the moodier “Extinction Debt”  as they deliver simple, no nonsense, burly mid 90s European death metal with some nice grooves. As God intended.

[Visit the band's website]

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