Review by Felix on February 4, 2020.

The first Slaughter Messiah output I got in touch with was Morbid Re-Incantations and here we have the persecutor of this fascinating EP. The general approach does not differ from the record from 2016 and this is anything but a surprise when considering the former activities of Lord Sabathan. As a logical consequence, Slaughter Messiah present vehement, violent and infernal black metal whose riffs originate from the lungs of hell. Nevertheless, the band does not forget to intersperse the necessary modicum of melodies. The three songs do not reach the fantastic level of the highlights of Morbid Re-Incantations, but Putrid Invokation provides 13 minutes of diabolical entertainment.

The well-equipped (black) vinyl offers a lyric sheet and a poster with the cover artwork, but, of course, the music is the main content. The back cover promises "Ancient Metal of Death", but in my humble opinion, the black metal elements maintain the upper hand. The brutality of Slaughter Messiah's music might be comparable with that of some death metal formations, but generally speaking, the music has not much in common with old school death metal. The guitars are not absurdly low-tuned, the lead vocalist does not growl, and the melodic ingredients always deliver an atmospheric element. The configuration of the songs lies precisely in the middle between high sophisticated and primitive. Finally, the well-placed tempo changes contribute dynamic and dramatic vibrations.

In terms of quantity, such a relatively short release might be deemed as questionable, but everybody with a penchant for apocalyptic black metal will enjoy the quality of the EP. I promise that there are no signs of fickleness or laxness, the Belgians know only one direction and stay away from any form of experiment. But fortunately, they also know how their music must sound. The EP has a proper sound, minimally blurred yet aggressive, raw and roughshod. Long story short, this vinyl will not disappoint all freaks who like pure, authentic black metal. Hopefully, the formation breaks out of its EP scheme and publishes a full-length pretty soon.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 4, 2020.

The first Slaughter Messiah output I got in touch with was Morbid Re-Incantations and here we have the persecutor of this fascinating EP. The general approach does not differ from the record from 2016 and this is anything but a surprise when considering the former activities of Lord Sabathan. As a logical consequence, Slaughter Messiah present vehement, violent and infernal black metal whose riffs originate from the lungs of hell. Nevertheless, the band does not forget to intersperse the necessary modicum of melodies. The three songs do not reach the fantastic level of the highlights of Morbid Re-Incantations, but Putrid Invokation provides 13 minutes of diabolical entertainment.

The well-equipped (black) vinyl offers a lyric sheet and a poster with the cover artwork, but, of course, the music is the main content. The back cover promises "Ancient Metal of Death", but in my humble opinion, the black metal elements maintain the upper hand. The brutality of Slaughter Messiah's music might be comparable with that of some death metal formations, but generally speaking, the music has not much in common with old school death metal. The guitars are not absurdly low-tuned, the lead vocalist does not growl, and the melodic ingredients always deliver an atmospheric element. The configuration of the songs lies precisely in the middle between high sophisticated and primitive. Finally, the well-placed tempo changes contribute dynamic and dramatic vibrations.

In terms of quantity, such a relatively short release might be deemed as questionable, but everybody with a penchant for apocalyptic black metal will enjoy the quality of the EP. I promise that there are no signs of fickleness or laxness, the Belgians know only one direction and stay away from any form of experiment. But fortunately, they also know how their music must sound. The EP has a proper sound, minimally blurred yet aggressive, raw and roughshod. Long story short, this vinyl will not disappoint all freaks who like pure, authentic black metal. Hopefully, the formation breaks out of its EP scheme and publishes a full-length pretty soon.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Death8699 on May 15, 2019.

This album I bought a physical copy of, listened to it all the way through, and thought "this is a real piece of sh**." Now I think differently about it after hearing more and more of it. The music isn't their best written to date, but it's decent for a semi-new release. There's a lot of time signature changes and the vocals pretty much stay the same throughout the entire release. I'd have to say I was just "bored with it" the first few times around. But then it started to grow on me. I thought that it was better than average. There are some parts that are surreal and melodic, though just on maybe a few songs. They're trying a little experimentation here.

The production quality is quite sound and the music (for more or less the most part) is HEAVY. But the riffs aren't as catchy as previous albums. There's only a few that I caught that I liked but most of it was good or a little better than average. I think that they still had something good to offer here, the leads are well done, a little Morbid Angel-esque type of vibe from the earlier releases. I think this album isn't talked about much or though worthy of writing about. I beg to differ because I think the band still had something to contribute to the METAL scene. It was just a little unexpected that they took a turn into a little more (as I mentioned) experimentation.

Songs are about 3-4 minutes long and there's a lot of variety tempo-wise. Some riffs are pretty intricate and fast but they're always changing things up. It's not liked the earlier days where they were pretty much wholly heavy. I'm not sure why they put in some somewhat mystical parts in their guitar sessions, but I only know that they do it just briefly. They've alternated tempos constantly, but the vocals stay the same. Not sure why Eric Rutan wanted this change with the band because it was better when they were in your face death metal, not just experimenting with sounds constantly.

I'm still giving this album a "B-", I think it's generous to do, but I'm only being fair. Hate Eternal did something different here, whether you like it or hate it, they're still playing death metal as a 3-piece and have racked up some good heavy riffs. If you focus on those, then maybe you'll like the album more. That's basically like I did. But yeah, this is one that definitely has to grow on you. And focus on the leads as well because they're totally well played out. We'll see what Erik has to put out the next few years with another new release. Buy the physical copy and support metal especially the band!!

Rating: 8 out of 10