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‘Our Great Undoing’ is the second release from US Blackened Death Metal outfit ‘Tyranny Enthroned’, following 2012’s ‘Born of Hate’, sound-wise they blend influences from Floridian Death Metal , in particular, in my opinion, Domination era Morbid Angel, it’s subtle but it’s there, with a substantial amount of that intense quality found in European Blackened Death, encompassing some pretty impressive riffing that holds your attention. I picked up on a strong element of Hate, particularly in the vocal department, the excellent rasping growls from Jesse McCoy reminding me of Adam Buszko and you would be forgiven if, on your first listen, you were mistaken in wondering if they were Polish and I intend that as a complement . Another quality to their sound is the subtle, dark and haunting, underlying melody you would find used in compositions by the likes of Swedish bands like Dissection or even more so, Naglfar.
‘Our Great Undoing’ is a riveting and addictive listen, consisting of seven tracks that span thirty-eight minutes and is guaranteed to grow on you each time you play it. The compositions are fluid and organic in their construction and delivery, with an excellent level of musicianship, lyrical content that encompasses anti-theistic, post-apocalyptic elements delivered by those superb, already mentioned vocals, well varied guitar work and drum work that is more than sufficiently pummelling to keep up with everything, I can’t fault this album.
Opening with ‘Visions of the Surreal’ and demonstrating right from the start that strongly European Blackened Death leaning, with waves of pummelling drums as well as riffs coming at you in aggressive chunks, yet that underlying melody coasts beneath as the vocals tear a path across the top, a superb start to the album with the next track ‘The Incubus’ following along in the same vein, with a more pronounced melodic feel towards the close.
On ‘Concession’, the longest offering on the release, the vocals take on a slightly different slant, here, the growls are accompanied by a higher rasp, the two voices sit very well together and are completed with superbly fluid riffing, with the pace upping and intensifying from midway until the close and with a brief but agreeable chunk of lead work.
Following sinister riffing ‘Interpreter of Dreams’ opens on a deathly scream, again twin vocals and a haunting hypnotic riff pattern dominating much of the first minute, before upping the pace to a more frenzied one, the tempo switching once more, a track that is fascinatingly varied in both tempo and direction.
‘Mark of Conjured Divinity’ is also well varied, switching from reflective haunting riffs to intense bursts and also has some great builds, it even tails off well, another superbly constructed track that makes an engaging listen.
‘Dissenter Chasing the Void’ has a punchy opener , building with intense drum work that has a high profile, a track with a strong blackened edge and intense riffing and towards the close, then a haunting drop away, building for one final time to the close of the track .
The final offering, ‘Our Great Undoing’ continues with the mix of haunting and intense riffs and pummelling drum work, all powerfully punctuated and phrased right to the very last note.
‘Our Great Undoing’ was mastered by Scott Fuller (Abysmal Dawn, Scordatura, Annihilated), the superbly sick artwork is by Ken Sarafin of Sarafin Concepts ( Archspire, Hate Division) and is available on Blast Head Records, I recommend giving this a listen, particularly if you are a fan of Hate’s work, it’s in a similar vein but still has its own uniqueness, a superb album.
Review by Jools Green
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