Dead Congregation – Promulgation Of The Fall (Profound Lore)
Greece’s Dead Congregation are shaped by old-school death metal. The band admits as much in their Bandcamp bio: ”…Dead Congregation focus on lacking aspects [sic] in today’s death metal bands/releases: feeling, spirit, atmosphere and quality.” And, true to their driving forces, 2008’s debut LP Graves Of The Archangels hit those (admittedly amorphous) marks, creating spaces in the CD cases of Immolation and Incantation diehards. But here’s where Graves and sophomore pounder Promulgation Of The Fall differ from other releases produced by the new crew of the old school: They’re not rehashes built in the image of the gods, but extensions on what the elders (read: people) thought possible. Dead Congregation’s moves are familiar, but the voice is updated; paving inroads of enjoyment for all generations. Promulgation Of The Fall — with its roulette wheel double-bass kicks, gutturals that sound like stretched nattō, and tones that fill your nose with the phantom stench of sulfur — could pass for ’92, but it’s also mechanized with 22 years worth of additional knowhow. Think of it as the old school album with the benefit of a time machine. –Ian [LISTEN]