Echelon
Indulgence Over Abstinence Behind The Obsidian Veil
Released October 17th 2015
Blackened death metal
Released via Metal Inquisition Records
At first listen I wasn’t dragged into this one, but it’s really starting to grow on me. This is surely standard, old school death metal on introduction, but there are some nice touches of ‘other’ brought into play as well. From opener Adversary you get the feeling that there is a Satanic angle at work, as the title may suggest. The album name including the phrase ‘indulgence over abstinence’ only adds to this supposition. It’s enough to set the curiosity burning, and, sure enough, right there in their logo stands proud the symbol of the Satanic cross.
The digging further revealed that, interestingly, this is a two man project, featuring none other than Dave Ingram (ex-Bolt Thrower), with all music created by Rogga Johansson (Down Among The Dead Men – with Ingram – and far too many other bands to mention!). With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the classic DM vibe inhabits such a vast part of of their world. Don’t be misled, though. Aside from the vocals, Indulgence… bears only some resemblance to BT, or DATDM. Less choppy than the latter, and heavier than the former were during Ingram’s tenure, it’s still in the same ballpark, but is also identifiable as a distinct entity.
It is the darker experimentation brought about by the ‘black’ edge that fattens out this release, allowing Echelon to expand into areas which may be avoided by other DM bands. However, there’s one point at which I’m not sure they shouldn’t have reined in the divergence a little. The closer, Regenerative Genesis, begins by sweeping through with an ethereal narrative, backed by creaking soundscape, yet somehow, it’s the comical finale of the last few seconds that really stick out in the mind. The ‘no spoilers’ rule dictates that I can’t spill the beans on what that is, so you’ll just have to listen and find out for yourselves!
Chips down, this is a quality spin, sure to appeal to followers of traditional death metal who want a little something extra.
4/5
Paul Macmillan
Valkyrian Music 