Cycle of the Werewolf

This band features two members of Demilich- the fellow who calls himself “Corpse” and none other than Antti Boman himself- here under the pseudonym “Abomanitor”. The latter isn’t the lead vocalist- that’s left up to someone called Rotten- but I’d be surprised if he isn’t behind the subhuman belching that forms the a capella opening track. This actually leads you to expect something comparable to the incomparable- is this going to sound like Nespithe?It’s actually a bit of a disappointment, then, when Phantoms of Madness charges in, with a sound indistinguishable from the classic old-school Scandinavian death metal template. Not that there can ever be too many people playing Left Hand Path, etc. etc.- but you immediately drop your expectations down a notch.Still, it’s decent, authentic death metal. The vocals are guttural and deep, giving the whole thing a good weight to it. Lycanthropic Aeons is particularly impressive; the drumming is brought right to the fore and the guitar tone is buzzing and angry. Tunes like this do a good job of twisting through different ideas- accelerating to a punkish clatter and decelerating to crashing, warlike grinds. nataS fO tsaeB (I guess another nod to Boman and Corpse’s work) features some of the best death metal riffing I’ve heard this year with its Entombed like spidery lines.I don’t really know how I feel about this. Of course, I love this type of music- everybody should. But it doesn’t really tell me anything I haven’t heard any number of times before. Compared to my other review this week, Phlegethon, this sounds like an imitation- it can never be as magically filthy as a band that was there from the beginning. Despite its violence it still sounds a little polished. Nonetheless, anybody that loves the early 1990s Swedish sound- and sees its recent reincarnations in the form of decent albums by bands like Tribulation- will probably be in heaven here.