Review by Felix on December 9, 2019.

Today it is hard to believe, but old geezers like me can honestly assure you that there was a time when Pestilence released really good albums. Consuming Impulse, whose mix avoids serious defects, is among these works. I admit that it has never reached the status of the fantastic debut, at least in my opinion. Why? Well, the death metal elements have gained the upper hand, although there is still a remarkable quantum of thrash in the compositions. From this follows, to address painful subjects right at the beginning, that some tunes rather focus on death metal bluntness than on lacerating guitars. For example, the first two songs do not score with special compositional ideas. They celebrate a feast of brutality without keeping an eye on musical brilliance. Even the Slayer-like solo of the opener is going nowhere. Yet things get better, Pestilence are able to improve.

As soon as some effective riffs shape the songs, the Dutch crew reaches for the stars. The thundering drums guarantee a mostly hellish velocity and the hoarse growling of Mameli seems to originate from hell, too. "Out of the Body", for instance, shines with exciting leads after a short warm-up period. The guitars create an excellent flow with a tiny melodic touch, before lead vocalist van Drunen hogs the limelight. His brutal performance gives this song (as well as the other ones) a very harsh and craggy overall appearance. That's a fine fundament, even though rather atypical elements like the occasionally occurring spooky keyboard melody in "Echoes of Death" enrich the album. Speaking of this track, it is driven by powering guitars and, of course, straight and fast drums with the effect that the mix of melody and violence creates a special fascination. Moreover, the rarely interspersed melodic elements enrich the entire album.

Further highlights show the energy of the early Pestilence. The rabid and fast "Suspended Animation" serves as an example. I enjoy its very coherent main riff which leads to mercilessly straight verses and an equally straight chorus. Not to mention the fact that it is also equipped with a horrifying keyboard line. "The Trauma" with its somewhat weird chorus constitutes another track where drummer Marco Foddis seems to be under high pressure, because he thrashes his kit without remorse one more time. But he is also responsible for the majority of the appropriately apocalyptic lyrics. Pestilence's odyssey into obviously drug-imbued Spheres has not yet begun and uniqueness is an abstract term whose value is absolutely unknown. Thus, the dudes from the Netherlands are heading for complete devastation and the fact that some solos border on chaos appears only logical.

28 years after the release, it can no longer be overlooked that time has taken its toll. In 1989, this aggressive force left a huge impact and was nearly a gift of the Gods. But today, it can be deemed as a more than solid, but not overwhelming work with definitely more highlights than lowlights. This is no accusation. Senile geezers like me know that there is no chance to ignore time. To grow older is nothing for cowards.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 8, 2017.

The new Moonspell is interesting in that it is sung in the band’s native Portuguese language. That doesn’t take away from the power of the performances, however. They are all passionate and full of life. The vocals have a certain amount of energy and venom to them that resonates strongly with the listener. The guitars also have the appropriate amount of bite to add character to the performances. Overall, this is instrumentally a strong album with a lot going for it. The music is gothic, but also has a bit of a dark metal vibe to it that makes it wonderfully atmospheric.

Compared to the last album Extinct, the songs here are more aggressive and perhaps less moody. This contrasts nicely with the previous album and makes for good reason to have a new release from the band. There is simply a lot of variety in the discography of Moonspell at the moment as is shown by their last two releases in particular. There are people that appreciate the classics like Wolfheart, but I believe the best music of the band is what is currently on the market. The album opens up nicely with En Nome do Medo, which is a thrilling opening number to the album. The music becomes even more dense and assertive as it progresses, however. It all culminates in Todos Os Santos, which is a very strong track. There isn’t enough innovation for the music to be truly mind blowing, but it still manages to make an impact.

The fact that the vocals are in Portuguese doesn’t have a huge effect on the songs, as they are strong regardless. There is a nice mood created that is more aggressive than the previous work and carries with it a certain degree of venom. The whole affair has the band sounding like they poured all of their energy and heart into the work. This resonates strongly and makes for a potent display of metal might. It’s hard to say if this is better than the previous effort Extinct, but 1755 is certainly a worthy album in its own right.

Rating: 7.6/10