After four years of silence, Pyre restores the raw sound of the early 90s; the slow entry of the guitars in the opening song “Where Obscurity Sways” will make your skin crawl. The quarter of Dym Nox (vocals, bass), Roman Rotten (guitar, backing vocals), Fred Obsinner (guitar), and Oleg Malleus (drums) conjures the elements of doom metal while the guitars combine skull-crushing riffs.

The album’s sound production mainly highlights the depth of the songs showing that the raspy, grim atmosphere and the rotten sound of the music remain the focal points in the ten songs Pyre continues to showcase its visceral riffing on songs like “From the Stygian Depths” and “Domains of the Nameless Rites”.

The slow evil riffs and chugs offer creative guitar work. However, the overall direction of the songs and the vocals add a real menace, resulting in balanced-paced songs that range from slow to up-tempo death metal assault. The vocals are very similar to Martin van Drunen’s growls and the percussive work is impressive, with the rhythm section flawlessly pushed through the songs.

With a rotten and old-school flair, Pyre maintains the gloomy landscapes through the doomy death metal riffs that add a crushing and the menacing tone of the vocals is evil and infectious. The short instrumental cuts like “Wandering…” exudes foreboding horror and the guitars immediately inject hooks. The blasting percussion grabs your attention with its killer drum fills and consistently empowers the surge of the violent riffs in “Murderous Transcendence”.

There is just the right amount of guitar chugs and double bass that provides an effective brooding atmosphere alongside the evil raps; luckily the album doesn’t lack any infectious riffing instead Pyre delivers plenty of leads and melodies.

The raw guitar tone and the pacing of the drums range from slower, doom death metal riffs including the sinister and unsettling effect of the rhythm guitars; there are a few similarities to bands like Death where the slow leads stand out in songs like “Writing Souls”. But between these brooding guitar sections, the drums erupt in aggression bringing much intensity to the music.

Unfortunately, my only criticism is that the album’s time run falls under thirty-five minutes, despite this minor drawback, the Russian lads have delivered an absolute onslaught by capturing elements of thrash metal and unique guitar work that will not disappoint fans of Dismember and Asphyx.

Even in the shorter songs like “Chanting Ancient Incantations” the drums elevate the band to such an extreme level; the style of the vocals fits the album perfectly and there is top-notch catchiness in the guitar and the main riff. Sinisterly slow, the drums often burst in with old-school brutal flair while the rhythm creates a horror atmosphere throughout, Pyre concentrates on the slow and mid-paced, but there are some faster moments where the blast beats are applied.

The consistency and quality of songs like “Pestilential Fumes” reeks of old-school influences, I find it difficult to admit that those Russians have released a killer record. “Where Obscurity Sways” sounds evil and rotten, and the focus on musicianship shows how the band developed a sense of agility in combining different genres in the new album.

The short instrumental song “Descending…” provides a dark and brooding intro for the final song “Prognostic of the Apocalypse”. The drumming work is violent and frantic packing up some furious beats, the guitar offering ruthless brute of thrash metal riffs.

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