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Condemned: Realms of the ungodly
30/01/12 || lou.imm0rtal
The school of death metal founded in the state of California is a very interesting one indeed. Actually, all of the schools of death metal from the USA have their own interesting and very distinctive characteristics. While the Northeastern school of death metal focuses on simplicity and a straight-forward approach of groove drenched brutality (and sometimes semi-technical brutality aka Suffocation yet maintaining a bulldozing stream of crunchy riffs), the West coast school of death metal presents us with apocalyptic technical fret board structuring toppled with intricate and blazing percussion. Such acts like Disgorge could, with all probable cause, be considered as one of the significant innovators of the West coast brutal death metal sound. Young bloods of this school, Condemned, take great pride in following the blueprints set forth by their forefathers of their region but never limiting themselves to the established boundaries. Instead, Condemned has proven that it is a force not to be reckoned with and commands a powerful approach to the music that they have set forth to create.
The band came solidify their name with their first effort, a demo entitled “Mass Burial” back in 2005, which was an über heavy slab of semi-technical & slam drenched death metal delivered in a simplistic manner. The songs were incredibly catchy and worth the attention of Czech Republic’s Lacerated Enemy Records who went on to release their first debut full length, “Desecrate the Vile.” After countless gigs and over-seas touring, they were picked up by California native label, Unique Leader Records, who saw their growth to the ranks of native bands such as Deeds of Flesh and Disgorge (the vocalist of Condemned, Angel Ochoa, has even performed with the originators of Disgorge in the band To Violently Vomit). It is now that the band has unleashed their grand opus with much room left for further growth since they have now found their true sound and thematic formula. One way to describe this record is the 3-dimensional aura that is felt throughout the progression from track to track, unlike their earlier efforts which were more 1-dimensional. One cannot help but to appreciate the barbarity executed in this album in an almost artistically flawless manner. The production is clear without sacrificing the performances of each instrument. Vocals are beautifully entrenched between the layers of the chunky yet clear guitars and the drums sit behind it all up pummeling through it.
When I signed up to write for Global Domination, I stated that I would only review bands that I personally felt brought the motherfucken death and Condemned does just that with this new effort. It is a shift in gears on their behalf from what they had initiated with. This is only natural since it is the way of all things. Bands such as these that grow with their music and continue to harness their craft to create a better effort each time are bands that are worth investing in. Amongst the endless waterfall of swill that exists in modern death metal, there will always be some young blood to come around and set the neighboring contenders ablaze. Condemned’s “Realms of the Ungodly” is a beautifully sculpted slab of brutal death metal that remains loyal to its school of sound and with this said, expect nothing but the highest execution of death metal coming from their camp in the future to be. Oh yeah, the artwork is flawless! Zig remains one of the masters of death metal artwork! Check it out or get the fuck out.
- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Unique Leader Records
- Website: Condemned MySpace
- Band
- Angel Ochoa: vocals
- Steve Crow: guitars
- Paul Avila: guitars
- Mario Pena: bass
- Forrest Stedt: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Eirgmos… Aidios..
- 02. Ere the Dark Sovereign
- 03. Baptismal Incineration upon Simonists
- 04. Catharsis of Human Impurity
- 05. Embodied in Elms of Eternal Misery
- 06. Realms of the Ungodly
- 07. Forged Within Lecherous Offerings
- 08. The Divine Order of Babylon
- 09. Manipulated for Servitude
- 10. Submerged unto Phlegethon
