California’s Deathevokation released The Chalice of Ages, back in 2007. It has been finally repressed and comes with a bonus second disc containing their infamous 2005 Blood demo, their split eps (with Graveyard and Lie In Ruins) and some live songs. All of their music ever recorded is on here and I have to say when I listened to The Chalice of Ages album if I was not looking at the CD I would have said, ‘Hotdamn Bolt Thrower is back and better than ever!’ (despite the band being named after a Dismember/Carnage song).

This is where the likes of bands like Humiliation, Hail of Bullets and Deathevokation come in and say wait a minute here, we can play this style to such a degree that is a new Bolt Thrower album even needed? When ‘Rites of Desecration’ comes storming through your speakers you will be saying, ‘Bolt Thrower, who?’ This is pure IVth Crusade worship here with beastly double bass drumming at the 2.50 part that will make your head fall off due to the rumbling heaviness. The vocals are even Bolt Thrower influenced. All the songs just flow into the next song and how this flows into track ‘Acherontic Epitaph’ is seamless with the double bass. The riff in the beginning of this track is godly and some awesome vocals, double bass and guitar riffing during this onslaught of a track.

‘As My Soul Gazes Skywards’ is over 10 minutes and features some doomy influences that fit in nicely with their bludgeoning heaviness. This song features excellent guitar melodies in the beginning that reminded me of classic Paradise Lost and this resonates throughout the song. The production is really good, but the snare sound could have been improved upon a little bit.

The quality of all the splits/demo/live songs on disc 2 are exceptional and the 2 opening songs on disc 2 would essentially be the newest material the band has out, which was recorded in 2009 and they go along viciously to their prior material. The layout is exceptional, of course, since Xtreem Music spends quite a lot of time and energy into such things. The album cover has been revamped a bit, I prefer the original though. All the covers to the demo and splits are included inside the booklet, as well as song lyrics to all songs. We also get pictures, flyers, liner notes and the only thing missing from this is the Sherman Tank. I think that was included in the heavier than thou box set edition. Regardless there are talks that the band has not officially broken up, kind of more on a hiatus status.

It would be a shame for Deathevokation not to release another album. These songs are classic in the sense they are memorable, powerful and so well written. This is a Buy or Die recommendation of the highest order!

[Visit the band's website]

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