Blaspherian-Infernal warriors of death

Deathgasm

2011

This Houston, Texas based act began back in 2004. They knocked out a few demos and did a couple of split 7" before deciding it was time to record their full length debut. Death metal is usually a very hit and miss genre to my ears. So many bands in the style tend to fall in the trap of being very limited in their approach. Fortunately Blaspherian have both old school influences and some ideas of their own. There is a definite early death metal foundation in their music as I hear some Morbid Angel, Possessed, Immolation and even Slayer. Blaspherian easily bring the intensity and heaviness to their sound plus the standard growling vocals. What really made this album for me was that the band realized that death metal doesn't have to be in one gear. The pace frequently changes between fast and a heavier, but slower almost doom pace. More importantly the band sound completely comfortable using the different speeds to their advantage. This control of the pace allows them to really build the mood and depth to their songs that so many bands of this genre don't even attempt. This is still early style death metal at the core, but Blaspherian aren't afraid to actually show some songwriting skills as well. The end result is that it's one of the more memorable death metal albums I have heard in the last few months. There is still some work to be done though. The vocals are frequently a few notches above the music in the mix and the drums beats are more basic than they needed to be on a few songs. Still an impressive debut that I'll be listening to for a while.