Year: 2023
Total Time: 44.45
Label: Massacre Records
The well-known German Death Metallers ATROCITY released the third and final part of the “Okkult” trilogy. In a career of almost 35 years, they have released 11 full length albums, 5 Mcds and one DVD! Their new album was mixed and mastered by the mainman of the band Alexander Krull at his Mastersound Studio. The basic version of the album includes 10 songs.
Track-by-track now, the opening song “Desecration Of God” begins with an orchestral sequence with piano accompaniment. Dark melodies and orchestral samples can be found here and there, at the same time with distorted guitars. Typical again are the Death Metal growls in Alexander’s vocals and some nice solos. It’s a fast and powerful song, really one of the best in the album. “Fire Ignites” continues aggressively in brutal Death Metal paths with frantic speed, nice riffing and vocal raw grunts again. “Born To Kill» stands out for its guitar riffs and is a relatively short mid-tempo track. “Bleeding For Blasphemy” has a gloomy and epic start with guitars, drums and orchestra before the tempo picks up and the blast-beats begin. The small orchestral/epic parts are also very fitting, and I will also emphasize its complex structure. All of the above make it one of the best songs of the album as well.
“Priest Of Plague” starts with a blast-beat assault and continues at mid tempo. Nothing special here, apart from the many tempo changes. And now let’s move on to the highlight of the record “Malicious Sukkubus” which starts with a dark cinematic prelude and the accompaniment of a church choir. The melodies are truly epic. It features two guests’ singers Elina Siirala (LEAVES’ EYES, ANGEL NATION) and Zoë Marie Federoff (CRADLE OF FIRTH CATALYST CRIME).The orchestral parts by Jonah Weingarten (CATALYST CRIME, PYRAMAZE) are impressive. “Lycanthropia” is in a completely different style and reminds of hard SLAYER without a trace of melody but only blasphemy! In the same style is “Faces from Beyond”. “Cypka” starts with a catchy mid-tempo riff and some recitations by Polish actor Igor Gorewicz. Then it continues in the same motive as well. The album closes with ‘Teufelsmarsch’ or ‘The March Of The Devil’, which is a mix of awesome guitar riffs and dark symphonic passages. The song is complex with many changes in tempo, and the orchestral elements performed here by Robse Dahn (EQUILIBRIUM) and Misstiq. The second best track on the record and the most fitting way to close it.
In conclusion, we have another strong release with a perfect production from ATROCITY who show that they “still got it” despite the years that have passed. “Okkult III” is also released in a deluxe edition with a bonus cd including instrumental versions of the songs. Finally, I can’ t avoid commenting again on the very bad front cover that continues this ugly tradition since the day of their creation (with the exception of “Okkult II”). Why is this happening Mr. Alexander?
Rating: 7/10
Editor: Dimitris Argyrakis
Related Link: ATROCITY – Facebook Page
