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Category: Ekpyrosis

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Any band that has been around long enough will eventually become judged by the merits of its imitators. After all the easiest way for a young band to find its footing is by following in the footsteps, sometimes directly, of its inspirations and influences. Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, and Krisiun at various points all have been the subject of imitation on a smaller or larger scale. Pennsylvania death metal combo Incantation weren’t part of that select group until sometime around 2008 when bands as Dead Congregation and Father Befouled sprung up and popularized the sound with those for whom the original was too difficult to comprehend. In the decade-plus since the first copycats wormed their way out of whatever unconsecrated ground they called home the original is still unsurpassed and in their old age have been experiencing something of a conceptual rejuvenation that knows no equal.

Since 2013 Lombardy, Italy-based Ekpyrosis has been conjuring something of a little infernal storm of themselves. Our introduction to them was with their commendable “Witness His Death” EP from 2015. While no paragon of originality it captured enough of that murky atmosphere that has been Incantation’s calling card since the very beginning. Two years later their proper debut “Asphyxiating Devotion” followed and while nothing fundamentally changed about Ekpyrosis’ sound in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t quite as narrow in how it choose to imitate Incantation. “Primordial Chaos Restored” continues that evolution and it sounds as if, slowly but surely, Ekpyrosis is etching out its own identity while staying loyal to the old masters. The only real significant change that Ekpyrosis underwent is the ousting of bass guitarist Marco Cazzaniga and the recruiting of Gianluca Carrara in his stead. The transition with Carrara is seamless and he debuts commendably on “Primordial Chaos Restored”. One of Ekpyrosis’ greatest strengths is the vocal interplay between Marco Teodoro and Nicolò Brambilla that is a dead ringer for both Daniel Corchado and John McEntee, but our favorite member is drummer Ilaria Casiraghi. Casiraghi (or Curly, as we frequently call her) is of the Kyle Severn, Rick Miah, and King Fowley school of drumming and probably understands better than anyone else that less is always more.

There’s something to be said about how well Ekpyrosis masters their chosen style when a track like ‘Abyssal Convergence’ sounds as if it was culled from “Profane Nexus” or a similar recent Incantation offering. ‘Instigation Of Entropy’ opens with a riff scheme reminiscent of ‘Desecration (Of the Heavenly Graceful)’. ‘Conception From Nothingness’ echoes ‘Sempiternal Pandemonium’ and ‘Crown Of Decayed Salvation’ at various points. ‘Chaos Condensing’ is an atmospheric acoustic instrumental and the first of its kind that Ekpyrosis has written, to our recollection at least. It seems only fitting that Ekpyrosis would conclude its latest EP with a faithful rendition of Incantation staple ‘Devoured Death’ (at least they were so smart not to cover ‘Profanation’, ‘Unholy Massacre’ or ‘Deliverance Of Horrific Prophecies’, which would be the obvious, and thus predictable, choices). It would be interesting to hear Ilaria tackle Dave Culross’ more technicaly challenging material from “The Infernal Storm”. At its best it’s almost impossible to tell Ekpyrosis apart from Incantation. At various points this really sounds like a long-lost Incantation recording, probably from somewhere between the Daniel Corchado, Mike Saez - and John McEntee fronted eras.

The Stockholm influence that permeated “Witness His Death” and parts of “Asphyxiating Devotion” has completely disappeared and Ekpyrosis is now fully embracing its ancient New York death metal sound. To fans of Incantation, Morpheus Descends, Autopsy, Winter, and the like this EP will sound instantly familiar and there are more than a few things to cling to. ‘Chaos Condensing’ is, by far, the most adventurous track present, primarily because it captures that old Italian horror atmosphere so wonderfully. Not that we’re expecting Ekpyrosis to suddenly turn all Goblin and go all psychotronic and psychedelic. This is about the last band where you’d expect funky bass licks like Fabio Pignatelli or mind-bending keyboards like Claudio Simonetti but the macabre horror atmosphere is certainly worth exploring further. Also not unimportant in this particular equation is the production from Carlo Altobelli. Rather befitting it leans more towards something murky as “Onward to Golgotha” than the bare-bones Sunlight Studio approximation of his earlier productions for this band.

What really sells “Primordial Chaos Restored” is the absolutely stellar cover drawing from Raoul Mazzero for View from the Coffin. It effectively captures the funereal, murky essence of the cavernous death metal that Incantation pioneered. In the second half of the nineties (when it was anything but trendy to imitate Incantation) Canadian one-man act Darkness Eternal pretty much reigned supreme in the field. These days the field is considerably more populated with all the good and bad that entails. Ekpyrosis clearly love the various incarnations of Incantation and “Primordial Chaos Restored” doesn’t focus on any era specifically. Ekpyrosis is, at least as far as we’re concerned, the leader in a growing movement of underground metal acts that steer away from the mechanical, sterile, and frankly, lifeless hyperspeed death metal that Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Hideous Divinity have specialized in. They are, along with Ferum, Amthrya, and Resumed, the future of the Italian underground. The catacombs are churning and Ekpyrosis has been spat from the darkness. At some point this sort of death metal will become the norm again. To paraphrase Hellhammer: “Life is just an illusion, only Ilaria is real.”

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There’s no question about the indelible mark Chuck Schuldiner left on the worldwide metal scene through the work with his band Death. That the world lost one of its greatest innovators was clear even back then and even moreso now. In the ensuing decade since Schuldiner’s passing in 2001 various bands have sprung up to fill the void left by Death. The darkness of the catacombs gave the world the likes of Ekpyrosis, Ferum, and Amthrÿa (all of whom worship at the altar of Death in more primitive ways). The obvious candidate to carry on Schuldiner’s legacy is German act Obscura, now defunct Californian unit Insentient (fronted by Leslie Medina) but also Southern Italy-based Resumed. This Italian quartet debuted in 2014 with the rather unassuming but highly impressive “Alienations” and now, four years later, return on Danish label imprint Mighty Music (once home to Iniquity, among others) with “Year Zero”. Suffice to say, “Year Zero” was well worth the four-year break in between releases.

Hailing from Abruzzo in Southern Italy Resumed formed under the name Holy Terror in 2007 with the earliest line-up consisting of core trio of Daniele Presutti (vocals, lead guitar), Carlo Alfonso Pelino (bass guitar) and Filippo Tirabassi (drums) as well as Nikolas De Stephanis (lead guitar). Before independently releasing their “Human Troubles” demo recording in 2009 the four changed to their current moniker. In 2012 De Stephanis bade the band farewell after which Pelino took his place on lead guitar and Giulia Pallozzi was brought in on fretless bass guitar. Two years later “Alienations” was released to little fanfare but obviously stirred enough interest for Mighty Music to offer the Italian quartet a recording contract. As with their debut “Year Zero” fuses influences from forgotten Italian technical death metal pioneers Desecration (“The Valley Of Eternal Suffering”) with established American – and European institutions as Atheist (“Piece Of Time”, “Unquestionable Presence”), Pestilence (“Testimony Of the Ancients”, “Spheres”), Theory In Practice (“The Armageddon Theories”, “Colonizing the Sun”) and, of course, Death (“Human”, “Individual Thought Patterns”, “Symbolic”). It’s an impressive showing to say the least, especially from a band little over a decade old.

What makes Resumed different from a good majority of their peers is that their tempo is far lower and their approach is more song-based. Italian death metal, at least the way it is understood since the early millennium, propagated itself as a more mechanical, theatrical interpretation of the Polish or Brazilian sound. As such it tends to take after Internal Suffering, early Nile with a dosage of “De Profundis” Vader to even things out. Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Hideous Divinity are probably the most recognizable names specializing in that particular flavor of Italian death metal. Resumed brings a sense of finesse, elegance, and sophistication back to death metal. On the whole “Year Zero” very much sounds like “The Armageddon Theories” era Theory In Practice without the keyboards, or the kind of album that Death could have released in between “Symbolic” and the more power/progressive metal inclined “The Sound Of Perseverance” (which was never conceived nor intended as a true Death record to begin with). The death metal that Resumed specializes in never rages, blasts or stomps but indeed flows just like the most enduring Death records. Like on “Human” there’s a sense of tranquility, restraint, and control to “Year Zero” that’s seldom heard these days. Some might find this a bit slow for their taste, but that doesn’t change how well written it is.

While arguably lead guitarists Daniele Presutti and Carlo Alfonso Pelino are the stars of the record and offer up a veritable avalanche of solos, the importance of Giulia Pallozzi’s bass guitar cannot be understated. In tradition of Cliff Burton (Metallica), Chris Richards (ex-Suffocation), Tony Choy (ex-Cynic), Mike Poggione (Monstrosity), Steve DiGiorgio (ex-Death, Autopsy, et al), Jeroen Paul Thesseling (ex-Pestilence, ex-Obscura), Éric Langlois (ex-Cryptopsy), Niklas Dewerud (ex-Spawn Of Possession), and Erlend Caspersen (ex-Blood Red Throne) her funky licks flow above, below and in between the tides of riffs. Likewise is drummer Filippo Tirabassi a paragon of restraint, control, and finesse. As with their debut “Year Zero” too deals with the paranormal and the extraterrestrial. Whether or not the literature of famous Italian ufologist Mario Gariozzi on the subject was any inspiration we’ll leave in the middle, but it’s far more interesting than what these bands typically write about. From the production work you’d never guess that 16th Cellar Studio and producer Stefano Morabito were involved in its creation. It’s unusually smooth on all fronts and nothing like, say, the recent Internal Suffering album that Morabito produced. In general we’re not the biggest fans of what comes out of 16th Cellar Studio with “Year Zero” as the exception that proves the rule.

As heir apparent to the legacy of Chuck Schuldiner and Death “Year Zero” is as good as this thing tends to get. Resumed is not quite as hook-oriented as Obscura is on average and their songwriting is never as collected and streamlined as it was on “Symbolic”. As good as “Alienations” was “Year Zero” is in all ways superior. If there’s anything that the Stefano Morabito production has improved upon it’s the drum tones. On “Alienations” they were almost mechanical and sterile sounding, here they sound full-bodied, organic and naturally warm. Keeping up with traditions from “Alienations” the artwork was rendered by Davide Mancini. It’s comforting to see young bands sticking with what works. “Year Zero” confirms that Resumed are the heirs apparent to the throne vacated by Death in 2001, even though a tribute act like Gruesome is obviously far more popular than they’ll ever be. Resumed is refreshingly bereft of any contemporary influences and if there’s any justice in the world “Year Zero” will introduce them to a much bigger audience. With the promotion department from Mighty Music behind them Resumed is destined to become a much bigger player.