Review by Felix on February 14, 2024.

As far as I can see, Puteraeon is not among the biggest names in Swedish death metal. Okay, in view of the myriads of national competitors, it is not easy to join one of the first positions. Nevertheless, this fact might be a quirk of fate, because the dudes do not hurt the guidelines of the subgenre and, more important, they spread some fine morbid vibes and present over-average, weird melodies on occasion. The powerful, very professional (Sweden!) sound with the dominant low-tuned, vigorous guitars possesses all the trademarks death metal demands and so the fans of the genre get their money’s worth. No doubt, the instrumental intro 'Horror In Clay' constitutes a good start and a more than solid introduction and the first regular track 'The Sleeping Dread' shines with morbidly flickering guitars.

To me it seems that there are also some run-of-the-mill parts, but almost every death metal album exhibits this symptom. Of higher relevance is that Puteraeon make the inner strength of the performed style tangible and do not offer any kind of throwaway track. Every now and then, it seems as if the band has lost its own way and walks on the “Left Hand Path”, but this is probably just because of the extremely narrow frame of the fatal genre. At least the quartet finds the gas pedal and is not in danger of suffocating in its own sticky mid-tempo mush. Moreover, the songs come to the point directly and therefore the output scores with compactness and robustness. So there are good approaches that result in little gems (enjoy the smooth, dynamic and intensive 'The Curse') and the flow of the album is also well thought out, inter alia in view of the atmospheric intermezzo on the sixth position. It introduces to the malign and partially ultra-fast 'Into The Watery Grave' appropriately and provides a link to the cover.

It’s somehow sad that this form of metal has already been presented a million times before, because the more I listen to the album, the more I like it – but only to a certain degree. Sometimes I have the strange feeling that some death metal hordes waste a big part of their potential only because of lacking courage to break out of the scheme of the subgenre. The only surprising detail of The Cthulhian Pulse... is the piano part at the end of 'Terror At Sea'. This gives me food for thought, because I am afraid that everything has already been said and done in this style. But those who see it differently can enjoy the deeply droning guitars, the naturally monotonous yet powerful voice from the crypt and the full sound of the release. It’s not forbidden to offer more of the same, especially not in view of bulldozing tracks like 'The End Cometh', and if it feels right for the musicians, it has its justification.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10