Merciless Death - Realm of Terror

January 8, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Simple. Fast. Black. Evil. Short. To the point.

All of these little key words make up a pretty good black/thrash outfit from California called Merciless Death (yep, Dark Angel influences abound). I like ugly, ugly black metal in the vein of Bulldozer, Venom, Mercyful Fate, Possessed and Bathory. Sure, a lot of these bands spill into other genres, but before there were Emperor and Dissection there were a milieu of bands that made the genre as important as it is today. To me, this is what black metal is: ugly, raw, fast-paced anthems for Satan that are unapologetic and simplistic. The band’s sophomore effort, Realm of Terror, is a brutal assaulting of virgin, albeit heathen ears and suffers only from a little suspect production, which may or may not add elements of realism and “old-school” for some listeners. The only other “complaint” a fan might have is that there’s nothing new here, and while that’s certainly a viable statement it shouldn’t ruin or predispose you to trying out an otherwise fine band with a solid thrashing effort.

Barely cracking the 28-minute mark, Realm of Terror is a lesson in black-thrash that combines Dark Angel and Slayer with some Destruction thrown in for measure. This trio managed to take all of the finer pieces of old black metal and fuse them with old thrash to make something not necessarily innovative or fresh, but damn fine to listen to if you’re in an evil, foreboding mood. Right down to the song titles, the band touches on the now-ancient 80s and its underground formula rather nicely, leaving all of the charm and (un)sophistication in all of the right areas. There are parts in the tracks just made for headbanging and moshing until your antichristian selves fall over from subtle exhaustion. Truth told, it’s a simple album, but it is a very good assemblage of tunes that can be enjoyed by any era of black metal fan. Some standouts are “Evil Darkness,” “Tombs of the Dead,” “Fall to the Pentagram,” and “The Gate.” There’s always room for another solid effort from the current push of black-thrash and Realm of Terror is a small, yet integral part of it. Journey back to a period too often relegated to nostalgia and not very well cared for until a band comes around and simply gets the pages in order.

Release Date: May 20th, 2008
Label: Heavy Artillery Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  The Abyss
2.  Realm of Terror
3.  Evil Darkness
4.  Tombs of the Dead
5.  Death Warriors
6.  Cult of Doom
7.  Tormented Fate
8.  Fall to the Pentagram
9.  The Gate
10.  Summoning of the
       Ancient Ones

Total playing time: 28:03

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