Review by Felix on October 8, 2023.

After less than two years since their extremely old-fashioned and very energetic debut, Eternal Evil are back with The Gates Beyond Mortality. Two years is a rather short period between two albums, but the Scandinavians aren’t lazy: it was time enough to kick out the old rhythm section and integrate a new one. Apart from these line-up modifications, another process of change is remarkable. After a hasty demo and the thundering debut, the band has begun to emancipate itself from its idols. The sound of the Swedes no longer sticks between “Endless Pain” and “Pleasure To Kill”. Even neckbreaker like 'Funeral Prayer' have a discreet melody line. But the process of emancipation is not only a positive thing, because the band seems to be prematurely aged. What I want to say is: compared with the debut, The Gates Beyond Mortality brings us 10% less devastation, 20% less high velocity segments and 10%, I beg your pardon, more so-so segments. Is this the price for the newly gained maturity?

Possessed’s “Beyond The Gates” comes to my mind in view of the title Eternal Evil have chosen for their second full-length. Maybe this is no coincidence, because “Beyond The Gates” was a good album, but until today, it stands in the shadow of an unbeatable debut (last but not least because of its dull production). In terms of the mix, Eternal Evil have done nothing wrong. The typical thrash voice (without high pitched screams) is in the center of the mix, but the instrumental section is not fobbed off with handouts either. It’s a state of the art production. In terms of recording possibilities, Eternal Evil do not fear modernity. But as indicated above, I am not very happy about the stylistic readjustment. Therefore I fear The Gates Beyond Mortality will share the destiny of “Beyond The Gates” and will have a less glorious place than the debut in the band’s discography. It’s almost a malicious twist of fate - the guys want to impress the listener with their newly won manifoldness. Too bad that raw outbursts are still the core competence of the quartet. Yet the difficult extension of the own musical horizon is not the only problem here. The band is also not immune against wasting its potential.
Very promising beginnings do not necessarily lead to great tunes. The title track starts with a cool line somewhere between Testament and Slayer, but it falls victim to some comparatively expressionless sections. The silent intermezzo is okay and there is nothing that annoys me, but somehow the song in its essence is less than the sum of its parts. 'Desecration Of Light' is equipped with a captivating and alarming guitar line at the beginning as well. Fortunately, it is more compact and comes to the point directly. Maybe no outstanding jewel in the history of thrash, but a defiant, aggressive and vigorous piece.

The final third underlines the impression of the first six songs. I am listening to a good album, even though I wish there would be a higher portion of the fiery vehemence 'Immolation' offers. This track with its fine Reign-in-Blood-solos, the rapid verses and the sharp bridge as well as the uncompromising and furious 'Funeral Prayer' build the bridge to the Armageddon-like debut. By contrast, 'The Astral Below' is just there, decent yet inconspicuous. The closer leaves a better footprint. Honestly speaking, it is the only “sophisticatedly structured” track where all sections go hand in hand. Okay, when it comes to eight-minutes-thrash-attacks, I still prefer Hallow’s Eve’s band anthem or Sacrifice’s “Flames Of Armageddon”, but 'The Cursed Trilogy' makes a cool statement too. So all in all it’s true that I miss the impetuous fierceness of their first output, but The Gates Beyond Mortality is recommendable as well.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on October 7, 2024.

Anyone who is familiar with the Italian one-man project Apocalypse of Erymanthon Seth from Turin, Piedmont, has known this for some time as a Bathory tribute project that is so incredibly authentic that it’s also quite scary. However, things would be taking a different turn with the arrival of the seventh full-length album strong>Pandæmonium, which promised something brand new and fresh for the masses that have never before experienced in their music, blending multiple influences into something mighty and innovative. It’s a drastic change from the last album Retaliation from 2023 which was more focused on themes of rebellion and anti-social views, introducing a different mythological aspect that is very reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Are you ready to transcend into the new world of Apocalypse or will you decide to perish in flames? 

Kicking things off with the cover of 'Praeludium In D Minor' as the intro to this Apocalypse, we transition to the heavy banger 'Hanged, Drawn And Quartered' that opens up the gates of Paradise Lost thus introducing a new musical direction that the band has taken on. Although the band was gradually evolving in various styles similar to Bathory’s notable works, with the previous album Retaliation resembling "Requiem" with its death/thrash metal approach, this time however it seems that Apocalypse has finally distanced itself from the Bathory style formula and decided to shape its own musical identity that headed more towards an experimental epic/gothic metal style with elements taken from other subgenres like black, death, symphonic, heavy, pagan and folk metal, which all combined truly suit the title of the album while unleashing pure strong>Pandæmonium. The riff work on here is mixed in styles from heavy down-picking to mid-tempo rhythm picking to occasional tremolo picking, with vocals varying from intense shouting to epic singing while throwing in some beautiful and powerful neoclassical guitar solos that just add icing on the cake and sweet cherry on the top. All of the songs on this album present a dynamic range of ideas, never staying in one spot and maintaining stylistic consistency, but rather broadening the musical horizon of Apocalypse, with plenty of great exemplary songs and a couple of standouts like 'Witchhunt', 'The Well Of Deception' and 'Son Of Fire' as personal highlights on the tracklist. Amongst all the nuances that I’ve covered so far, the album showcases a more frequent use of synths that manage to manifest this heavy ominous, and gothic atmosphere with a dark ambient vibe, and with the organ sound used on the intro and outro, you will get the feeling like you’ve just watched a horror theatre play with anthology-like progression in chapters. Speaking of progression, it personally felt like you just delved deeper into the Pandæmonium and went through Dante’s all nine circles of hell that greatly differ from each other, with every song introducing something new for you to gaze into and fully immerse. It all comes down very naturally and smoothly when it all ends on the grand 'Finale', closing the Ninth Gate of The King of Shadows while another lost soul wanders into the desolate inferno. 

Apocalypse did a great job at exploring and unlocking new ideas that will play a crucial role in the album’s songwriting, and as a final result, you get very rich song structures with an incredibly dynamic range of musicality that varies in heaviness and atmosphere. It’s great to see that Erymanthon Seth managed to take his project to the next level where it not only feels drastically different, but it also feels much more engaging in the way how the music pulls you into its own world inside the album cover, and it all suddenly comes to life as you gaze into the flames. I was actually quite surprised how it greatly distanced itself from the past works, and the overall experimenting with various metal subgenres turned out quite effective in the final result because in my opinion, such a decision is a formidable challenge and a risk not many musicians are ready to take on. What I really like about Pandæmonium is exactly its well-thought-out dynamic execution, because you can easily find everything for everyone, no matter what your preferences may be, with everything being in place and somewhat integral to the album’s musical DNA. The album cover is the famous painting of John Martin’s Pandaemonium (1841) inspired by John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost (1667) has now become a very common use with other examples like six6six (2015) by Bill Beadle's Sacrilege and "The Oath Of An Iron Ritual" (2016) by Desaster, and it’s also its own trademark like Thomas Cole’s paintings that were also used by various other metal bands. Despite the pointed-out fact, I really don’t consider it a flaw in any way, because I still think that this painting is highly fitting for the album itself, and one can look at this as another band’s interpretation of John Martin’s Pandaemonium. On the final note, the sound production of Pandæmonium is perhaps the most superior than any of the previous albums, because it’s so top-notch that it additionally compliments the generally excellent musicality of Apocalypse. 

I must say, this was quite the surprise that left me in such a pleasant mood that I decided to give this album a replay. Pandæmonium is an epic experience that created a whole new world for Apocalypse, and I can’t wait to see this expanding into something even greater in the near future. Erymanthon Seth really is a mastermind when it comes to the music of Apocalypse, and his songwriting showcases so many different layers of his artistic mind. If you loved the previous works of Apocalypse, this one will definitely impress you just as it did me. 

Rating: 9 out of 10