Review by Felix on May 10, 2019.

One thing was for sure since 1999, the successor of Hell Eternal would have to flex its muscles or it would stand in the shadow of the aforementioned output eternally. Well, the artwork of Endtime Divine is rather inspired by "Hell Awaits" than by Hell Eternal, but the music itself lies in close proximity to that of its predecessor. Setherial still offer their unrelenting attacks with absolute belief and total authenticity and the result are murderous, venomous and totally black pieces of metal. Density meets brutality, but at the same time melodic elements coalesce with sadistic fury. In other words, Setherial embody many components of this typical Swedish style that is characterized by its perfect mix of 90% violence and 10% melodies. "Subterranean", one of the highlights, is, among other things, based on such an actually brutal riff which simultaneously creates, almost by chance, a devastating melody. Furthermore, it lends the chorus a certain catchiness. This number would do credit to bands like Dark Funeral or Naglfar as well, in terms of style and in terms of quality.

Setherial are not innovative, but they also do not swim with the trend. Their conviction shimmers through every composition of this uncompromising album. All more or less melodic parts cannot cloud the fact that this is still a radical kind of music due to its breakneck guitar lines, the powerful drumming and the throaty, totally non-melodic voice. The lead singer conveys the customary quantum of hatred and misanthropy. He does not sit in the driver's seat, he rather appears as a companion of the guitarists. However, this is no problem at all, because the dudes at the six strings know how to navigate through the barren landscapes of Setherial's black realm. They ensure the necessary number of breaks and different lines with the effect that the album never gets boring for genre freaks. Instead, maturely designed songs like "The Underworld" illustrate the entire glory of (Swedish) black metal.

I cannot deny that Setherial fail to deliver unique features. However, the compositions are not predictable, and no other band has the copyright on this kind of metal. The crucial thing is that the song-writing can be described as coherent, mighty and rigorous. Fortunately, the songs also profit from the profound production which underlines the dark atmosphere of the material. In view of this mood, it comes as no surprise that the aptly titled "The Night of All Nights" belongs to the best tracks, while a few numbers of decent pieces rather pass by without leaving a long-lasting impression. Given this fact, Endtime Divine is a little bit weaker than the formidable Hell Eternal, but it is still a strong work that avoids any external, non-black inspirations. Therefore, I can recommend the album to each and every black metal soldier who thinks that the periods between two Dark Funeral albums are too long.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on April 4, 2020.

It was 1991 when a speed / thrash metal wrecking crew from Nagoya, Japan, felt ready to attack the European market. Today Nagoya, tomorrow the world? Well, Outrage had already released three albums. Given this situation, the guys were no absolute beginners and they probably knew that they had the skills to write mature songs. Inspired by rather stylish combos like Testament and Metallica, Outrage kept an eye on the integration of melodic elements. Their sonic rockets did not lack speed and explosiveness, but ferocity or bestiality did not play a role. Apart from the compositional approach, Outrage were furthermore equipped with a contract with a financially potent company (Polydor), Stefan Kaufmann from Accept produced the album and so the promotion machine began to work.

Indeed, the songs of The Final Day document the experience of the band members. All songs have a smooth yet vigorous flow. Sometimes they suffer from repetitiveness, but this fact does not hurt the overall impression considerably, because most parts of the album are simply good. The instrumentalists as well as the lead vocalist understand their profession. By the way, the man at the mic performs very solidly. It sometimes happens that the Asian voices sound slightly thin for European ears when it comes to heavy metal, but this guy generates different moods with his pretty charismatic voice. He does not scream like a pubescent teenager; he rather sings in a more or less conventional way. No doubt, this guy is a trump card of the formation and the same applies for Stefan Kaufmann. He has given the songs a warm and powerful sound, a little bit polished, but not overly softened. Moreover, Kaufmann has put emphasis on the guitars, although he started his career as a drummer. Consequently, the lively riffs and the skillful solos shine in the right light. Only the vocals suffer from an overdose of reverb from time to time, but let's ignore this little blemish.

Outrage offer a relatively wide spectrum. Of course, typical thrasher shapes the album, but the slow and somehow cryptic 'Follow' adds another interesting flavor. It has a surprising depth and its atmospheric density deserves attention. Moreover, 'River' is an excellent, almost philosophical ballad without any sweet or greasy details and the lead singer shows his full potential. But as mentioned before, most songs are perky, snappy and more or less jaunty. It doesn't matter whether one lends an ear to 'Madness', 'Wings' or 'Visions'. All these tracks reflect the euphoria of the band members, even though there are some dark elements in the songs as well. 'Visions', for example, creates a gloomy mood. However, the quartet does not wallow in bloodthirsty scenarios and sometimes I have the feeling that the guys have an affinity for the metallic side of Suicidal Tendencies. But I am no expert for bandanas and therefore you are well advised to take this statement with a pinch of salt.

Outrage failed to take the European market by storm. Life is unfair, because I don't know what the guys from the fourth-biggest Japanese industrial center should have done differently. Maybe it was just the problem that they did not originate from the Bay Area or another hot spot of the thrash movement. However, The Final Day is a good choice for all those who like ripe music at the interface of speed and thrash metal with a minimally commercial yet interesting facet. And in view of the strong musical performance, the exaggerating message of the inner sleeve ("Outrage will change the definition of thrash once and for all") remains an irrelevant detail.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10