Dead Congregation, Purifying Consecrated Ground

Serving as the reincarnated entity formerly known as the band Nuclear Winter, Dead Congregation actually only have one member shared between the two bands — Anastasis Valtsanis on guitars and growls. The name of the band isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Dead Congregation shares little with it’s previous incarnation in terms of the band’s sound.

Deep, churning riffs combine with heavy drums and thick rhythms to create a dark and foreboding landscape of death metal. Seriously heavy guitars will crush your very spirit while Valtsanis unleashes some hellish growls in the name of all things unholy. The overall feel of this one is of devastation and the coming of demons as the band churns from frantic blasts to seething riffs that ebb with vile evilness.

Vomitchrist
A violent burst of bass, drums and driving riffs erupts at the opening of “Vomitchrist.” Deep guttural growls are indecipherable as they are surrounded byt demonic drumming and crushing riffs. There’s a healthy layer of gloom over this piece as well. A hellish lead comes in around the 1:20 mark. The track ends just as violently as it started. Man, that’s a beastly track.

Lucid Curse
Huge, burly riffs greet the listener as “Lucid Curse” descends quickly into the mouth of madness with churning guitars, crushing drums and demonic vocals. There’s actually a nice bit of groove at the 1:20 mark as the group ups the pace a bit. This one has an oppressive feel to it as the band slows things down about prior to unleashing the hounds of hell upon your soul. The track slows to a crawl toward it’s final few seconds as an eerie leads pulls you toward your own untimely end.

Feasting Angelcunts
Wasting no time, Dead Congregation get right into the angel defamation with a few moments of utter chaos shrouded in doomy riffs and animalistic drum work. Layered growls and screams create a swirling layer of confusion that only adds to the tracks overall feel. The feeling of chaos returns around the 2:30 mark with gurggling growls and huge riffs.

Auguring an Eternal War
“Auguring an Eternal War” starts off a bit slower than the previous tracks as it builds up with eerie guitar and creative drumming. It’s nearly two minutes before vocals come in, but when they do, watch your ass. The group quickly gets up to speed with driving beats and disturbing riffs. There are some evil as hell guitar pieces throughout this one. There’s even a bit of a breakdown around the five minute mark before the pace is picked back up with some completely insane vocals.

Downward Spiral of Morbidity
The final track on this EP starts quickly with guttural growls and thick guitars. Some pretty wild drumming comes in quickly with enough force to leave you battered and beaten. This was the perfect track to end out a hell of a release.

~ ~ ~

Dead Congregation is doing everything in their unholy power to build their own congregation of the recently deceased. Huge, apocalyptic riffs combined with crushing doom pull the listener to an early grave as primal drum work batters their soul with demonic rhythms. This is only an EP, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have enough guttural power to blow away most full lengths I’ve heard this year.

Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A