Desolator - The Bells Ninth Chime

DESOLATOR - The Bells Ninth Chime (MALTKROSS Productions - MC 2012)

It is hilarious I think that this year I listen to already the third different band called Desolator! First I have listened to some songs from Polish Desolator’s new (first since 1991!) recording “Last Wish”. Then I’ve got a debut CD of Swedish Desolator, which I found as slightly too mediocre death metal, but solid in general. And recently I have also purchased a cassette demo of American Desolator! Ain’t that finny? Ha, I am not going to mention the Finnish band called the same and probably two or three more, which I don’t know… Hmm, it becomes ridiculous sometimes you know, with ten bands called the same. Anyway, I must say that among all Desolators, which I have listened to this year I like this American band the most.  And it’s not because they play something extraordinary and unheard before… actually, it is the opposite, as the band performs very thrashing black metal filled with the influenced from the traditional, classic albums of the metal genre… but the way they play plus the songs, which have been collected on “The Bells Ninth Chime” are just fuckin excellent. And I have just been headbanging like crazy for the past couple of hours when I was listening to it and will do that again for next two hours or more, as I want to keep listening to this awesome cassette until I’ll start bleeding from my ears and my eye balls will pop up hehe!

The music of Desolator is very simple, but so awesome that I cannot even describe it properly... This is one of the most killer so called black / thrash / death metal releases I have ever heard and I can even risk saying that some of Aura Noir LPs aren’t even half as good as this demo is. First off, I love the production of “The Bells Ninth Chime”. It is very organic, really energetic also and it has this feeling of the band playing and recording 20 years ago, which is not so easy to achieve. Interestingly I have a feeling like the sound of Desolator on the demo is slightly similar to some Swedish metal bands of the recent, like Pest (their new LP), Invidious, Under the Church or Tribulation, maybe they even have some similar riffs – but riffs, which are not Swedish death metal like, but more into the classic heavy metal. Anyway, it just sounds awesome and more so, Desolator is truly powerful and aggressive, with many thrashing, fast and razor sharp riffs, plus some killer melodies and shrieking vocals of Edbanger. Listen to “Conjured from the Infernal Abyss” – if that won’t force you to bang your head and rise the adrenaline, then you may be dead. But personally I think that “Invoking the Spirit of Satan” is the best song of all four from this demo. Riffs in it may sound archaic to some, but to me they just sound extremely well. And that melodic riff somewhere in the middle of this track – KILLER (this is the one also, which I think could be close to some of the stuff, which some mentioned Swedish metal bands play nowadays)! And finally “In the Sign of Vengeance” reminds me early Enthroned and such their songs as “Satan Never Sleep” or other from their early albums. Anyway, the final result is pure slaughter; “The Bells Ninth Chime” is simply killer demo and I am really happy that I had a chance to get a copy of it. I’ve been told this demo is going to be released on CD along with Desolator’s first demo “Infernal Desolation” and it certainly will be a must to get for me. Recommended!

Standout track: “Invoking the Spirit of Satan”

Final rate: 85/100