Rating: 9.5

Country: Sweden

Release Date: 2005

Track list:
1. Black Revelation [MP3]
2. Gnosticon
3. Inaugurating Evil
4. Theriomorphic Pandaemonium
5. Dark Void
6. Lucifer Rising
7. Sacrament In Red
8. Mysterious Reversion
9. Khthonic
10. Ascent

Total playing time: 37:40

Band Website: Kaamos

Kaamos - Lucifer Rising

Karl - Vocals, Bass
Nicklas - Guitars
Chris Piss - Drums
Konstantin - Guitars

One of the handful of respectable bands still proudly carrying the banner for the Swedish Death Metal sound of days gone past, Kaamos present us with their latest and best effort, 'Lucifer Rising', the follow-up to 2002's 'Kaamos' album. 'Lucifer Rising' proves to be a bold statement of their validity among the faceless swarms of charlatans.

It's virtually impossible to make any direct correlation between Kaamos and any other band of the earlier days, but there are hints of just about every '90-'91 Stockholm Death Metal record that has ever graced my ears. It's not derivative, so much as heavily influenced. Keeping in the spirit of this sound, this is a stripped down, primal Death Metal explosion reminiscent of Unleashed's first two albums. Much like those two records, 'Lucifer Rising' wells with catchy hooks, galloping rhythms and blastbeats, and gruff mid-rangey vocals. For example; in the first half or the first track "Black Revelation", the Slayer and Unleashed is obvious, but the latter parts of the song are laced with a few riffs of varying tempos that would have sounded right at home on Grave's 'You'll Never See'. "Gnosticon" follows in a similar suit, but subtracts 'Reign In Blood' and adds more 'Shadows In The Deep'. Initially, the third song, "Inaugurating Evil" bears a strong resemblance to a certain song on Dismember's 'Indecent & Obscene', although I can't quite pinpoint which one, as my memory of that album at this moment is hazy at best. It does sound extremely familiar, though.

As with most albums, there are naturally standout tracks and peaks, and 'Lucifer Rising' hits its peak in the last 15 minutes. It would be incredibly difficult for me to pick a favorite, as every song here is virtually flawless... But if I absolutely had to, and this comes with much uncertainty, it would probably be "Sacrament In Red". This tune delivers the raw unbridled aggression that their contemporaries have desperately attempted to emulate. It is a volcanic explosion of light-speed percussion and the most pissed off sounding vocal performance to be found on this album. The pace is literally dizzying, and I was left wondering what the hell just happened when it moved on to the next song; "Mysterious Reversion". It appears deceivingly benign in comparison, upon hearing the lurching and resonating notes of the intro. The body of the song is much faster, however. And there's an unusual take on an arcane Thrash drumming technique here that spices the song up and makes it stand out after being bludgeoned by the preceding 7 songs. Expectedly, there isn't much deviation from the formula here, but there's enough variation to keep the attention of even the most jaded of listeners.

In comparison to Kaamos' self-titled debut, 'Lucifer Rising' exceeds it in just about every way possible. Immediately, you notice the beefed up Berno sound, as all of the instruments are easily distinguished from one another, and much louder than they were on the debut. The drums are also mixed higher, which works in their favor, seeing as how this style of Death Metal is more often than not driven by the beloved bass/snare combination. Also, the lead guitar work bears a striking resemblance to what you heard on Entombed's 'Left Hand Path'. The songs are far less predictable and same-ish than they were last time around. The band have stepped up the musicianship a notch, and incorporated some nice time-changes and a wide variety of catchy riffs for your listening pleasure. If you're like me, and enjoyed 'Kaamos' a great deal, then 'Lucifer Rising' will certainly be a welcome addition.

To those who aren't totally taken by this blast and thrash savagery, and favor more modern rhythmic wizardry and guitar pyrotechnics, I would strongly urge you to stay as far away from Kaamos as you can. Not to say that only fans of one particular style can enjoy this record, as I would listen to Soils of Fate just as soon as I would Entombed, but it's not for those who are looking for something that is going to break all the molds of the genre and tear down musical barriers. The foundation for Kaamos was laid years ago, and their formula is tried and true. In closing, if hearing the words 'Clandestine', 'Like An Ever Flowing Stream', or 'Where No Life Dwells' make you all misty-eyed and nostalgic, and incline you to wax poetic of the days when Death Metal was merciless caustic music that thrived on energy and aggression, rather than weepy, melodic, effeminate music for jilted teenagers.... You have absolutely no choice here. You cannot do without this record. However, if chugga chug riffs and raspy Anders Friden vocals are your thing.... You would do well to avoid this one.

April 30th, 2005