Review by Felix on December 8, 2023.

I own a physical copy of “Procession of Souls”, but it seems as if Deathgeist’s album from 2019, simply called “666”, is almost only available in digital form in my homeland. Younger generations probably have no problem with this fact, nevertheless, in my humble opinion a digital form is no form at all. On the other hand, the album is disfigured with a terribly executed artwork and the motif itself is also pretty dubious.

Either way, “666” is musically a very solid offering. The eight regular tracks after the somewhat pointless intro mirror spontaneity, energy and force. The Brazilians do not think too much, they just play and their performance indicates that they like what they do. All songs achieve a good level, there is no slowly advancing loss of quality as the album progresses. Okay, I must admit that “666” does not score with opulence, it clocks in at 31 minutes. But a short infusion with good thrash is better than a quantitatively fat release with some mediocre songs. Deathgeist avoid tiring compositions successfully. Their form of thrash evokes memories. It brings us back to the early days of this style without sounding antiquated.

The songs possess sharp riffs, they can rely on a good flow wuíthout abrupt or inadequate breaks and the lead singer seems to worship Schmier’s vocal performance. His voice reminds me of Destruction’s front man, although his typical high-pitched screams do not occur here. Nevertheless, the famous early albums from Destruction have worked as an inspiration for the guys from South America. The liveliness of “Infernal Overkill” or “Eternal Devastation” is not missing here, although Deathgeist do not fully achieve the degree of ferocity which made these works so impressive. Maybe this is inter alia due to the production. It does not suffer from severe mistakes, but five or ten percent more pressure would have been fine.

All songs spread similar veins and run more or less in the same vein, but this does not mean that the song-writing of the band is formulaic or predictable. The band has just found its way of proceeding and every now and then they vary their sound slightly. For example, the strong beginning of “Returning to Sodom” stands out, before the band channels the energy of this track. It is not easy to mention outstanding highlights, because there are none. Yes, the title track makes a lot of fun, but it does not stand out in the context with the other songs. Perhaps exactly this fact underlines that this album is recommendable. If only it would be available in a physical form.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Adam M on October 10, 2018.

Voivod still bring forth a spacey science fiction feel to their latest release.  Their sound is very mechanical and it’s as adventurous as ever on this disc.  The tracks are fairly long and go through a number of twists and turns.  It is progressive, but is held back at times by fairly standard song structures. 

The riffs are razor sharp and make for an exciting listen, but I fear the band wanders into too weird territories at times.  This is a small flaw and their futuristic sound still has a lot of appeal in today’s musical landscape.  How does this compare to the classics like Nothingface and Angel Rat?  The band are able to bring aspects of those albums into play with a decidedly new approach.  I don’t think this eclipses those albums as they had something more original in them at the time.  That’s not to say this album doesn’t try anything different because it often does.  It’s successful in bringing together influences from other albums including the last one Target Earth into a melting pot and creating a fresh new set of songs.  This band is very different than a lot of others and this is part of what makes them so appealing.  I don’t see this music as game changing as a few have, but it’s definitely an enjoyable listen.

The band is appealing because of their weirdness, but I also feel this holds them back from being even better.  Make no mistake that this is more quality material from the band and highly worth checking out.  It brings the space laden style into great effect and crafts some intriguing songs in the process.  Though I don’t believe this topples their classic discs, it is still a highly desirable album.  Fans of the band should have no problem liking The Wake as it resonates with quality Voivod content.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10