You don’t need good ears for the music to appeal to you, because Olkoth has honed their gigantic riffs. And from start to finish your ears will constantly bleed out, the songs are extremely brutal and there is something about the chunky guitar riffs, and the relentless drums that are simply overwhelming. The album’s opener “Alhazred” blends demonic guttural growls, and powerful chugging riffs bolstered by propelling blast beats. The tone of the bass guitar is immense and proper drum fills are professionally executed. Olkoth showcases its malevolent style of death metal, and I must say the songs recall the style of Nile and Aeon.
Olkoth’s debut album fits the genre of brutal death metal in showing great maturing for playing some hefty riffs. The following track “Incendiary Prayer” is a standout song that will put you in a vicious mood. Being the most powerful aspect of the album, the guitars bring in ridiculous levels of brutality. The creative use of tremolos pounding through the massive double bass adds great depth to the songs, as each of the eight tracks bursts into a whirlwind of energy. The debut also features some mid-tempo tracks such as “The Resurrectionist” which draws some atmospherics, the drums are very energetic and deliver plenty of crashing double bass kicks.
The punchy sound of the drums comes with a technical guitar riff that has a powerful reverb, combining enough viciousness and aggression. “At The Eyes of Chaos” is incredibly brutal, the sustained barrages of the guitar riffs are somehow memorable, but they’re really technical. The rhythm guitar is laced with a sinister melody but Olkoth rarely utilizes them. The outstanding job of the drums provides dynamics in tracks like “Thousand Faced Moon” which is full of tempo changes, despite the mid-tempo drums the heavy chunky guitars are apace with the grinding drums. The creepy intro of “To Eat of The Lotus” begins with a sense of creepiness, especially when the guitars create an obscure sort of atmosphere that leads to a sudden burst of blast beats.
Olkoth perfected its crafts with its technical precision. However, the songs may lack atmosphere from time to time. The slower tempos of the songs are very catchy, but there is always a remarkable use of chugging going into the fast tempos, the band remains extremely brutal, focused, and creative in their songwriting. The composition is overly detailed as there is an emphasis on creating slow and ominous passages, however, these segments show the strength of the band. The drums, are still fast and often straightforward, but Olkoth’s varied song structure has a sense of catchiness, the breakdowns are usually performed with massive drum fills and they are brutally efficient.
“Eidolon in the Flames” contains tremolo-picked riffs that ooze through fast relentless drumming, though the guitars deliver insane rhythms and pulverizing tempo sections and creating more brutal induced riffs. The modus in bludgeoning the listener with intense voluminous riffs, and shredding solos, seems to piece all these elements together.
“Lords of Kali Yuga” starts off with a furious blasting drum that builds into a heavy chug before the malicious growling goes through several tempo changes. Later in this track the technical guitars and subtle melodies become more prominent in the composition with the guitar solo section and riffs exploiting scorching brutality. The guitars in the title track “At The Eye of Chaos” up the bombast to the extreme level, with the drums being in full effect, focusing on double bass. Bouncy riffs imbue the song with a malevolent atmosphere, triggering drums played at insane speed and scorching guitar solos tearing you apart.
REVIEW SCORE
8.4 | Olkoth’s debut album “At The Eye of Chaos” is a superior death metal record that is highly recommended for the aficionados of extreme and technical music, do not hesitate to tune into the madness. |
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