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1.  Reach of Hell
2.  Behind the Diabolical
3.  Merciless Messiah
4.  Hailing the Thieves of Souls
5.  Devoted to Perdition
6.  Necrophiliac Beast
7.  The Banished
8.  Vzplanutie
9.  Palace of Skin
10.  Blood of Hastur

Total playing time:  34:40

Release Date: August 31, 2011
Label: Lavadome Productions

Perversity - Ablaze

Reviewer: Roswell47

January 8, 2012

I'm going to be honest.  Other than a couple of older songs, I didn't really know much about Slovakia's Perversity when I first popped Ablaze into my CD player.  The band's releases aren't exactly readily available in the U.S.  I would think that it's safe to assume that many readers aren't too familiar either.  For those not in the know, Perversity plays a style of death metal that merges modern brutality with a touch of the classic Floridian sound. 

Ablaze is actually Perversity's fourth full-length, and it's a pretty solid effort.  Overall the band has a brutal style, but it also incorporates an old school sound in the vein of Morbid Angel or Diabolic.  The more modern brutality manifests itself through guttural vocals and some semi-technical riffing.  There's also occasional bass noodling in songs like "Devoted to Perdition" and "The Banished."  These factors give Ablaze a somewhat modern edge and keep the more old-school aspects from dominating the band's sound.  Perversity also pays homage to classic death metal on Ablaze.  For instance, there are not one but two intros on the album (One is at the beginning of the album and the second appears near the mid-point of the album...likely where Side B would start if this were vinyl.).  Believe it or not, the intros actually add to the vibe of the album and don't feel like a nuisance that's only preventing a "real song" from starting.  Unlike a lot of modern death metal, Ablaze has a relatively loose, human feel.  Vocal duties are shared by Perversity's front man and one of the guitarists.  Their low guttural and mid-range growls compliment each other well.  The interaction between the vocalists can be somewhat imprecise, helping to add to the old-school feel.  The drumming also adds to the loose quality by being slightly manic at times, yet the drums never become too sloppy.  Further illustrating Perversity's love of the old-school, many of the guitar riffs recall vintage Morbid Angel, especially songs like "Hailing the Thieves of Souls" and "Blood of Hastur."  While the guitars could generally be described as semi-technical, the band also knows when to stick with simplicity.  "Devoted to Perdition" succeeds by providing some respite with it's plodding riffs, and "Blood of Hastur" will force listeners to slowly nod their heads to its crushing grooves.  And Perversity isn't afraid to use a slightly sour, out-of-tune harmony riff in "The Banished" to make the listener feel uneasy.  As with the rest of the album, this rawness is actually very endearing and helps the song stand apart from the others.  In fact, after several listens all of the songs on Ablaze begin to reveal their own distinct character. 

Perversity certainly isn't reinventing the wheel with Ablaze, but the band's blend of raw old-school style and modern brutal savageness definitely satisfies.  This is competent and well-executed death metal with just enough of a unique voice to appeal to most genre fans.  Perversity has made a new fan out of me.  Now I'm going to try to track down the band's previous album to help tide me over until the next one drops.