CHURCH OF THE DEAD
CHURCH OF THE DEAD "Beyond Death"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Given the band name and album title, I was ready for a run of the mill sermon from these unholy rollers...another Swedish death metal knock-off or maybe something in a typical Euro black metal vein. Well, these Finns have turned out to be a congregation well worth looking into. "Beyond Death" belies its bland title and delivers not only a rather unique sound but one that combines brutality and subtlety in unexpected ways. Hallelujah, brother!
The CHURCH seems to take influences from many different sources...yes, including Swedish death and black metal...and blends them in a swirl of unpredictability. Their guitar sound is grinding and heavy but also very, very dark...tuned and shaded in a way that is not just a knock off of something already done to death. Very first song "Dawn of the Wizard" surprises from the get go as there is a very heavy dose of synth adding a dreary tone to a mid-paced bone crusher. "Tombdweller" has an urgent, staccato attack with traces of traditional metal while "Ashes of the World" comes pretty close to DISMEMBER and early ENTOMBED with its chainsaw riffing mixed with melody.
From these first few tracks, one can already detect a band straining to be a bit different. Each track on "Beyond Death" can be dissected that same way, with layers of detail emerging. One keystone for C.O.T.D. is MAYHEM, who they cover here with a gruesome and faithful rendition of "Chainsaw Gutsfuck"...one that hits with all the heaving brutality of the original. Something of the spirit of MAYHEM permeates the record, the easy way that CHURCH makes death and black metal almost inseparable instead of easily compartmentalized.
They also have a very epic side, heard nowhere better than the song "Wormwood". Now, listen, I swear I'm not praising the song just because of its name...honest to Beelzebub, I'm not! In less than six minutes, the song is a master class in dark extreme metal, superbly executed and perfectly moving from riff to riff. "Christborn" has traces of BELPHEGOR and BEHEMOTH, but I daresay better than much of what the latter band in particular has been dishing out. The album ends with an offering of blackened death-doom "Floating In Blood", where the grinding, demonic vocals of Jussi Salminen almost overwhelm the guitars. His performance is top-notch throughout.
The one track I haven't mentioned, "Whore of Eden", is yet another banger, starting primitive and ugly and gradually gaining black melody. Honestly, I was utterly taken by surprise with "Beyond Death" and we may very well have a band here that could be a major force in extreme metal. Can I get an “amen”?