Finland’s Desolate Shrine fourth album, Deliverance from the Godless Void from 2017 was and still is a great album,  and five years later here I am reviewing their fifth album Fires of the Dying World 7 songs in 46 minutes.

Actually 6, since the opening track is an intro and it’s like a moody classical piece before “Echoes in the Halls of Vanity” comes blasting through your speakers.  Killer rumbling heaviness which has tank treads the size of 1,000 pachyderms.  The rumbling heaviness is one of the heaviest things you will hear in 2022.  The track picks up a little speed and then traverses into more mid-paced action with some guitar soloing going on, this section at the 2.20 part reminds me of Desecresy, one of my favorite and also Finnish death metal bands. The guitar tone makes up for the last album, which I though did not have as much luster as previous albums.  The sound on this is barbarically sinister.  Heavy and pure evil.  The varying vocal tones, from pained anguished vocals to a variety of tones truly add to some killer listening experiences.  Whip this bad boy up with your airpods in and fuhgeddaboudit.

“The Dying World” begins with some mid-paced heaviness and before you’re ready to say “I have to eat more SpaghettiOs” the speed and intensity of the song increases at warp speed.  Swirling blast beats dominate this section truly hellbent on removing your head from that corpse of your lifeless body.  Some atmospheric moments with a bit of drone, with the ethereal guitar spacey feel and then the slower/doomier section at the 3.30 section is so heavy you could potentially mess your shorts. The doom death approach could not have come across more natural sounding and the awesome growls during this section makes this writer shed a little tear.

“The Silent God” is 10+ minutes and encompasses the Desolate Shrine sound to a T.  Killer blasting (check out those cymbal hits) and a memorable guitar tone and creative riffing.  The song switches back and forth to the blasts, mid-paced moments which further get into the doomier side of things and riffing drenched in atmosphere which just happens to be a staple of the Desolate Shrine sound and approach.  This song rules, plain and simple.

“The Furnace of Hope” is not only a great song title, but also a monstrous song, befitting to close the album with this track.  Fast parts erupt only to bring things to a screeching halt and into a doom passage that is so darn heavy your skin will be sloughing off mere moments after this section begins.  More atmospheric guitar moments and the song is a moody bastard of a tune.  Befitting end to this album, which bests the previous one.

Fires of the Dying World is another crushing album by Desolate Shrine.  One of the best death metal bands out there, who’s sound matches their name.  They are one of the darkest and moodiest sounding death metal bands in the genre.  The band continues operating as a well oiled machine with LL taking on all instruments and MT and RS providing the various vocals.  Their continuity in staying intact makes their albums seamless, while still incorporating some added nuances.  For this album I would say the added doom atmosphere-depressive, more so than previous albums, shows their maturation as a band.  This album destroys-get it now!

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments