December 18, 2010

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

Those not up to speed, Order of Ennead is the Council of the Fallen under a new name with some new recruits. Mainly Deicide drummer Steve Asheim and then unknown guitarist Jon Li.  Except now vocalist/guitarist Kevin Quirion is now a member of Deicide, so on Order of Ennead’s sophomore album, the band is more of a side project for Deicide members.  Not that that really matters because aside from an occasional riff and two members, Order of Ennead does not have much in common with Deicide.

Order of Ennead’s debut was rather impressive. It was Blackened Death Metal with heaps of melodic shredding.  An Examination of Being sticks with the formula and adds a few more progressive and melodic moments. “The Concept of Our Extinction” takes the usual Blackened formula and intertwines it with some rather atypical Meldodic Death Metal style riffs. Quirion’s raspy snarl soars above the music and Asheim sounds overwhelmingly more inspired here than on Deicide’s Till Death Do Us Part.  “The Scriptures of Purification” is shifts between blasts and grooves and allows Li to do his best Santolla impression.  “Lies Upon the Lips of Judas” takes on a more Doom-friendly approach with its chugging and crawling riffs, but Li’s melodic hooks and the sudden leaps into assaultive Black Metal make for splendidly aggressive track.

“This Mortal Journey” unloads a dizzying array Progressive, Melodic Death and Black metal moments from one of the best tracks on the album while “…In The Mirror” almost goes full-on Prog and reaches the peak of creativity on the disc. The title track may induce nausea as it maintains sizzling speed only to slowing down to a crawl to allow Li to ignite his fretboard. The six-string hysterics are top-shelf and the band quickly goes back to the blasting assault.  “Conduits to Eternity” moves between heavy blasts and heavy riffs. The striking tempo shifts, Li’s solo  and Asheim’s drumming reach impressive heights while “A Portal to Rapture” shows the band is better off with spacey moments and slower speeds than the usual sonic sandblasting. “A Betrayal of Self” closes the album by jamming just about every tempo and sonic motif the band can create.  The blasting seems a bit insincere but the slower, Progressive moments approach stunning.

Order of Ennead proves to be some intelligent Blackened Death Metal.  Li’s shredding and melodies are quite impressive and fans of Deicide’s one-off masterpiece, The Stench of Redemption, will notice a lot of song structure similarities. The production is top shelf and Asheim gives one of his best performances to date. The only gripe comes from the fact that every song relies on blasting in one matter or another.  Either the song starts out blasting away or will eventually get there. Order of Ennead’s strength is their non-blasting moments.  While the genre demands it, Order of Ennead actually sets the bar when they go off on their brief, Progressive, Melodic, Groove and Doom-laden tangents. Recommended.

Release Date: April 19, 2010
Label: Earache Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  The Concept of Our Extinction
2.  The Scriptures of Purification
3.  Lies Upon the Lips of Judas
4.  This Mortal Journey
5.  …In The Mirror
6.  An Examination of Being
7.  Conduits to Eternity
8.   A Portal to Rapture
9.   A Betrayal of Self

Total playing time:  39:52

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Order of Ennead - An Examination of Being