It’s hard to believe that two years have passed since Desolus dropped one of the best extreme metal albums of the decade thus far in the form of their debut, System Shock. In the time since its release, this non-stop brutal thrash-stravaganza has since gained regular rotation on my turntable, getting spun roughly as much as the albums that influenced it (i.e. Kreator’s Pleasure to Kill, Sodom’s Persecution Mania, Dark Angel’s Darkness Descends, etc.) Desolus too have sped onward, touring the country like road dogs and quickly establishing themselves as the fastest band in the land. They’ve also expanded their lineup, welcoming drummer Bileh Dougsiyeh to the fold, while former drummer, Travis Stone, moves over to guitar duties alongside Jimmy Frost (Vivek Rangarajan remains on bass).
Together, this latest iteration of the band have crafted anything but a sophomore slump with their latest effort, Dwellers of the Twilight Void. Like System Shock before it, this album is an unrelenting offering of truly lethal thrash, rife with suffocating speed and primitive barbarity, teetering on the edge of death metal in its infancy. There are, however, certain aspects, both musically and production-wise, that the band does differently on here, which makes Dwellers as intriguing as it is merciless. Sure, I wouldn’t have complained if we’d received System Shock 2: Electric Boogaloo, yet I find myself equally as enthralled with the contents of this beast of an album.
At first I thought it was just my ears, but after repeated listens of Dwellers, the guitar tone is thinner on here than it is its predecessor. This doesn’t mean the riffage is weaker per se, but it does have a different effect on the songs themselves. Whereas System Shock‘s riffs were thicker, lying somewhere between Kreator and Demolition Hammer, Dwellers‘ riffs evoke shades of Killing is My Business era Megadeth and Bathory’s eponymous debut. Though none of the riffs on their own are overtly black metal in arrangement and delivery, the tone in and of itself is undeniably wicked, feeding into the darker atmosphere of this album as opposed to System Shock, hence the title.
There also seems to be a greater emphasis on thrashier parts, particularly mosh riffs. This is something the band did most excellently on their debut, and show even greater confidence doing on this album. Cuts like the title track, “The Pact (Sealed in Blood)”, and “Threading the Atom” all boast those nasty mosh n’ stomp riffs in the vein of Morbid Saint, serving as a sort of palette cleanse before retreating back to that speed-death safe haven. And fear not purists: There’s NO shortage of those songs on here. “Trespass the Threshold”, “Visages of Death”, and “Woman of Infernal Beauty” would fit right in on System Shock, absolutely nailing that Pleasure to Kill era Kreator ethos.
Throw in a most commendable cover of Slayer’s “Show No Mercy” (which translates most efficiently to Desolus’ “death metal circa ’86” vibe) and you’ve got another hell of an album from America’s premiere speed dealers. Much like pointlessly pitting Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits up against each other, there’s no need to compare or contrast System Shock and Dwellers as a whole. Both albums stand on their own, and Desolus continue to absolutely destroy the vast majority of their underground peers, whether it be intentional or not. To dwell has done them well!
8 out of 10
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Kreator, Sodom, Morbid Saint
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