2013
Whatever hope that I had of covering this EP sooner was crushed when my computer flipped out and went all psycho on me. Could it be that it was scared of what awaited it when I wrote about The Infernal Sea's new 6-track EP? Quite possibly. Or maybe I just need to face the facts that's it's time that I finally look at getting a new computer. I think the answer is to be found somewhere in between. For you see it's all rather sinister how things went down when I first tried to do a write-up for "The Crypt Sessions". Here it was that "Into The Unknown" (the EP's last track which runs over 15 minutes long!) had just wrapped up and, before doing the write-up, I took a break to go refill my wine glass. When I returned to my computer I went to log on to my Google blogger account. Not so fast. First it went and froze up on me like it had been hit with a cold blast of winter's chill and the next thing I know every thing's going to hell! When I tried to do a write-up of the EP my computer reacted like it was possessed! An hour or so later I gave up, powered down the computer and decided to return to this EP another time. The whole ordeal was rather odd. If anything though it did mean that I would get to put aside time listen to the EP a second time to refresh my memory for this write-up. That was a good thing as I'm almost thinking that I prefer this 6-track EP over the band's full-length release (which I happened to really like!). It's a close race though kind of neck and neck. If you couldn't figure it out from the EP's title then this 6-track release was recorded at the Crypt rehearsal studios (hence the title!) in England. Simple enough. Or is it? As it is noted on The Infernal Sea's bandcamp page (link below) the recording took place "on a cold winters eve in Jan 2013". That could have a lot to do with the overall chilly vibe this EP gives off (not to mention the way in which my computer froze up all to hell the first time around). Anyway, the band hit the studio with Christopher Majewicz handling production for this new release. Or, if you will, he just hit "record" as this EP was (essentially) recorded live with only a few overdubs taking place afterwards. That was "in order to capture the true sound of the group". The beautiful thing is that you do get the feeling that this is how The Infernal Seas sounds like when you see them life, but with benefit of a fairly smooth and clean recording and some extra "sound effects". It should be said then that if this is what the band sounds like live then don't walk, but RUN to their next show as these guys know how to throw down some simply nasty metal! Of the six cuts presented here three tracks are pretty much sound effects tacked on to help with the overall feeling of dread. Otherwise the other three "real" songs are sick and nasty metal! They are more then effective at putting a chill down your spine. "Into The Unknown" is by far the longest, the most sinister and the most epic of the three "real" cuts. "Skinwalker" opens the EP up and is 5:00 minutes of almost raw, blackened thrash. As is "The Circle Closes". Both of these cuts flow out almost seamlessly, but give off this bone-chilling vibe. While the last album was somewhat black/death in nature there seems to be even more of this emphasis on chilling out while at the same time beating the crap out of their instruments! For you see with some primitive thrash riffs sandwiched between the overall death/black vibe of these songs you get this raw, gritty blast of mean metal. At the Crypt rehearsal studio it almost sounds as if the guys let down their hair (so to speak) and took aim at crafting simple, yet clearly well-thought out, old-school death/thrash. Somehow they pulled off a sound that is laid back and yet perfectly lethal. Its mid-paced metal, but there's plenty of crunchy riffs and gritty vocals to give this a ghoulish polishing. It's different then their debut, but different can be good and this EP sure is good. Check out the links below for details.
Get the EP here:
http://theinfernalsea.bandcamp.com/album/the-crypt-sessions
Review of "Call of the Augur", the band's 2012 debut album
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-infernal-sea-call-of-augur.html
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