TRACK LISTING

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1.  Intro
2.  Black Vision
3.  Deep Blue Darkness
4.  Lacus Somniorum (inst.)
5.  The Lost Memories
6.  A Dark Cloud Arises
7.  In the Misty Morning
8.  Reality Isn‘t Disappeared
9.  Misery of the Rebirth
10.  Crown Waits the Immortal
11.  John 3:16 (outro)

Crown Waits the Immortal - [7"EP ’91]
12.  Apparition of the Mist
13.  A Dark Cloud Arises
14.  Crown Waits the Immortal

Purtenance Avulsion - [Demo 1 ‘91]
15.  Necropsy of Festering Body
16.  Cadaveric Mutilation
17.  Inside the Crematory
18.  Cannibal Souls

Total playing time: 1:06:22

Release Date: July 15, 2011
Label: Xtreem Music

Purtenance - Member of Immortal Damnation

Reviewer: Chris

January 14, 2012

Can I seriously reiterate how simply giddy it makes this hardened vet to see labels like Xtreem Music reissuing these lost and forgotten gems? Nope, probably not, and it would take up too much time where I could be espousing the virtues of this obscure Finnish band called Purtenance.

The late 80’s and early 1990’s was a literal breeding ground for death metal all over the globe; Florida had its influential stable here, Sweden goes without saying, Germany had a few notable bands and Finland seemed to house some gruesome specialty acts in its breast. What lends credence and adherence to the long overdue reissue of Member of Immortal Damnation is how brutal it is without bells and whistles mucking up the mechanism. The thick crunch applied to the music is familiar, yet so far removed from what we hear today in a world of polish and spit-shining that it is a long missed attribute. I’ve heard this album described as “depressing death”, but I don’t necessarily see that at all; what I do find wholly summoning is the fascinating dance through a density of dual guitars, double bass drumming and harrowing vocals that force you to take in the suffering alluded to in the record.

From the battering intensity of “Black Vision” to the wonderfully beautiful “Lacus Somniorum” this band is capable of stirring volatility perfectly while adding a bit of serenity to the mix to either throw you off the path or showcase a lack of total subservience to the death mystique. Either way, it’s brilliant and works just fine. This is a total tutorial on early European death metal which in many ways shadowed the U.S. in sheer reverence to the style and attention to the true nature of the beast. That is to say some of our local counterparts, as once famously quoted by Oystein Aarseth, tended to adhere to a basic style more than an idea; this is clearly not the case with these bands, and Purtenance is up there with Grave, Entombed or Casket from Germany with an undeniable tutelage in brutality.

This album runs the gamut from speedy wrecking-ball death metal to slow, paced horror and gloom as with “Reality Isn’t Disappeared”, which has a soundscape that resembles a sinister howling in a fog-laden pathway on any dark street. I love that a band can successfully invoke feelings of dread and ill-ease with its music. Even when the track speeds up and ascends to a logical apex it’s hard to get that howling out of your head. “Misery of the Rebirth” then tosses out all notions of a filler-laced record with even more tumultuous pounding, and the double bass is here in simply musical majesty defined. Everything on this album is well-constructed, if a bit uneven in spots, but that’s a small consequence to otherwise terrific music. As I said, what has been a lost concept for death metal in the modern day is found in revisiting this overlooked classic.    

As a bonus Xtreem has added the band’s original 7” and ’91 demo to the album, making the purchase an even better idea. I can’t sing the praises of these guys enough, both band and label. Eternal hails and thanks for finding these lost diamonds and bringing them new life in a death-filled arena of wonderment and loyalty.