Ichor

Ichor

Hadal Ascending

Unholy Conspiracy Deathwork / WOOAAARGH

7 December 2018

1.Paradise or Perdition 04:01

2.Tales from the Depths 06:01

3.Black Incantation 03:17

4.In Ecstasy 04:53

5.A Glowing in the Dark 04:08

6.Black Dragons 03:17

7.Architect of the Portal 03:57

8.The March 04:16

9.Children of the Sea 03:09

10.Conquering the Stars 05:55

total time 42:54

This album is compact and efficient, and it has all sorts of goodies that make it enjoyable and headbanging. In this extreme metal album there are various things taking place that make it fun in the way that the songs are constructed. The basic frame of the songs is by itself strong, but the fact that the band has gone beyond the meat and potatoes of the songs and added more elements is what makes it worthwhile. The vocal style is growling, the guitars are tuned down, and the drumming goes into blasting often, although blasting is not the only mode of operation, not at all As a way of illustrating what is going on here, let’s randomly choose songs 4, 5, 6 and 7 and see what they have to offer.

song 4. Some blasting, but also midtempo, with some breakdown chugging. Very nice heaviness and deep growling. The breakdown/chugging sounds awesome, and the use of some subtle melodies really give the song the vibe of both death metal and deathcore heaviness, but with some slight dissonance to great effect. When the song ends, the band takes away the extreme metal, and lets you hear some melodies they used, an example of another layer that has been there in the song, but that repeated listens reveal even more.

song 5. This one is typical of how the band works with different energies and is not afraid to mix it all up in the space of four minutes: slow parts, blasting segments, tremolo picking, super heavy-duty massiveness, low and high growling. How do they do it in four minutes? Well, they do it. It’s not chaotic, but it is kind of crazy, but it works!

song 6. The chugging breakdown parts are so good, with a bit of some good ole pinch harmonics. The blasting parts rock, too, of course. They throw down a bit of guitar hero licks. Overall, however, the guitar melodies coupled with the chugging make this track very fun.

song 7. The band’s ability to go from chugging breakdown to blasting to melancholic slow and back to death metal chugging moshpit heaven is a pretty cool thing. They don’t hesitate to inject blasting parts and their drummer certainly knows how to work in that pocket. As the song heads to the final lap, they hit you up with some monk chanting, yes, monk chanting, as they take out the song.

Conclusion. The songs are concise and efficient as can be. They find a way to stay on point even when they can do it all, reworking all sorts of styles into a coherent whole. Surprisingly fun.

ichormetal.bandcamp.com