PLAGUE BEARER — Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation (review)

PLAGUE BEARER — Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation album cover Album · 2023 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Seattle, Washington based death metal act Plague Bearer. The album was released through Nameless Grave Records in March 2023. Plague Bearer was formed in 1992 by guitarist Kelley Kuciemb (working under the Plague Bearer pseudonym). After recording a couple of demos, the band changed their name to Drawn and Quartered, but as Drawn and Quartered became a more permanent band, Kuciemb ressurrected the Plague Bearer name, and continued the project as a side-project. A couple of more demos, an EP, and a compilation (and 31 years) later and Plague Bearer were finally able to release this debut album.

"Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation" features none of the material from the early 90s demos, but instead it features four of the tracks from the 2001 "Defiled by Sodomy" demo, all four tracks from the 2006 "Rise of the Goat" EP, and two of the tracks from the 2008 "Winds of Pestilence" demo, which have all been re-recorded and included on the album. So "Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation" is ultimately the culmination and presentation of the last 20 years of material composed by Plague Bearer in an album format (leaving out of a couple of tracks).

Stylistically this is old school blackened death metal, which could just as well have been released in the late 80s/early 90s. The earliest Morbid Angel and an artist like Absu and their ilk are valid references. There´s a dark majestic quality to the proceedings, but Plague Bearer are still quite raw and brutal. They just have a little more to them and their compositions are quite clever and intriguing for the style. The vocals are raspy black metal snarling and only occasionally death metal growling (the two vocal styles are often doubled), but the instrumental part of the music is pummeling old school death metal (played at various tempi) loaded with blistering screaming leads, and gloomy themes suiting the anti-christian/blasphemous lyrics well.

The sound production is raw, filthy, organic, and at times slightly chaotic sounding, but Plague Bearer are skilled musicians who seamlessly keep things together and deliver a powerful, savage, and intense listening experience. "Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation" is upon conclusion a good quality debut album, but it´s not a release presenting the listener with anything they haven´t heard before. A few more memorable moments during the tracks and maybe a little more variation between tracks could have made the listening experience more rewarding, but as it is a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Rot Stink Rip Death Metal
TOMBSTONER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Human Rosin Melodic Metalcore
HATE BREEDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Through The Hell Hardcore Punk
ENEMY 906
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lightmatter: Rebirth Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eye Of Horus (Lightmatter EP Pt. 2) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 5 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 6 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed