End of silence for Tanin’iver.
Created in Australia by Steve « Skorpa » Lillywhite (vocals/guitar/samples), the project unveils, in collaboration with Liam Mohor (lead guitar/bass, Ascensions Fall, ex-Byrhtnoth, ex-Koldyssey) Dark Evils Desecrate, its fourth album, for early 2024, via the Morning Star Heresy label.
Another World’s Hell opens with sampled vocals, quickly followed by an aggressive rhythm, to which furious screams are added. The jerky riffs borrowed from both Black and Death Metal welcome intoxicating occult harmonics, but the rhythm quickly returns to strike, just as it does on Disrepair, which takes advantage of the cold Old School mix to create a heavy atmosphere. It’s easy to imagine it becoming the soundtrack to a horrific movie, while Separatist is much livelier, taking advantage of a high tempo and a devastating double kick to convey all its rage. The vocal parts regularly flare up, especially on the final where they become more plaintive, before giving way to Better The Devil, which offers a more martial approach, while dissonant leads develop the regular riffs an unhealthy touch. It is followed by Freedom Is Never Free, a more measured track that offers almost melancholic harmonic tones before allowing itself to accelerate, offering a rather soothing finale before Soul Thief sets its solid rhythm, supporting ominous leads. The vocal parts are not to be outdone, guiding the onslaught to the more ethereal elements before brutalizing them again, leading us to The Seer, which returns to the most relentless aggression, while including some more impressive melodic elements at times. Drowning On Dry Land returns to the catchy approach, letting the double kick and blast punctuate the violence, then So Was Red unveils a relatively unhealthy misty groove, letting the band go wild as usual to close the album in its dark cutting sonorities.
Tanin’iver‘s dark approach is interesting, and its roots are quickly discernible, but we still notice that the mix doesn’t really pay tribute to Dark Evils Desecrate’s power, sometimes obscuring some really important elements.
70/100