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- ALBUM REVIEWS -
- P -
- PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS [2009] In Memoriam, III Omen (demo) -
Label: Pulverised Records
Review by Kayla Beasley
RATING: 7.8 \m/

Black metal band, Pestilential Shadows, began in 2003 by original vocalist Maririm and guitarist/vocalist Balam. The line up of instrumentalists has changed from the original line up, swapping percussionist Guland, guitarist Raum, bassist Wraith, and vocalist Maririm for the current line up of; backing vocalist/guitarist Desolate, bassist Zameth, live bassist Eligos, and percussionist Sorrow, including the original guitarist/vocalist Balam. They’ve had five albums previous to this one, and their sound has certainly changed drastically over the years. Originally, the distortion was overwhelming, overpowering the music, making it hard to distinguish the different sounds and patterns. In this new release, there is still plenty of distortion but the guitarists as well as the vocalists use it in a controlled way. The recording is cleaner, the vocals are cleaner and the instruments are more distinguished.
The album begins with an aggressive cluster of vocals and instrumentals with surround sound recording techniques making your mind run in cyclonic circles. The beats seem to be very scattered without any actual rhythm. As the album progresses the songs become more tame and organised allowing the listener to depict the melody and complex/skilled riffs. Blast beats are repeated throughout the whole length of the album showing a great deal of endurance on the drummer’s part. Sorrow is continuously whaling on the snare and has a constant rhythmic double kick pattern. Aside from the hatred, disgust, pestilence, disease, decay, plague and death influenced lyrics; there is a large variety of different vocal types throughout the album from both of the vocalists. Desolate shows a massive vocal range, from a deep growl to a high pitched screech to a soft quiver, while Balam has a mainly lower register. In some tracks the vocalists strain their voices to the fullest and let out a surprising form of whimper or yelp, as well as some pig squeals every now and then. Guitarists Desolate and Balam have a long run of distorted riffs and heavy songs, but several times throughout the album they tone it down with a clean intricate solo, adding a soulful aspect to the album. Bassist Zameth is difficult to be heard over all of the other instruments and distortion but when focussing on the deepness of the music you can faintly hear the rhythmic thud of the bass guitar. Although no one is listed for keyboards, after rapid heavy speeds, there are some harmonious lulling keyboard melodies.
Though this album was not one of my absolute favourites, their fifth track, For Man and Heaven’s Ruin, was amazingly produced and showed off many of their musical capabilities. The track is filled with insanity and anxiety, expressing a true hatred towards man kind. This track was segmented into several different melodies that seem to take you on a journey, forcing an experience into your mind. In general, many of the tracks end with a clean vocal speech and have a common blast beat rhythm throughout the song. The main concept and sound of the album is very dark and evil with an underlying hatred. The album is completed with Bathed in Ashes, a soothing, melodic, organised rhythm that is very different from the rest of the album. The track has a sense of depression, with more soothing and slower rhythms.
All in all, the album was a great improvement from the ones they have release prior to 2009, but there is still room for some more diversity in their sound. They demonstrate a high degree of talent in several of their tracks, so with time; their albums will be a great success. \m/
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