Record label: Napalm Records
Release date: April 26th 2013

By: Ingrid
Until one year ago, I had never heard of Atrocity before. Which is actually kind of strange since they’ve been around since 1985 already and are (one of) Germany’s first Death Metal band(s). So yeah, what can I say besides ‘shame on me’. Digging into the bands history I found out that it’s rather interesting because they’ve changed their style every now and then. What started as a death metal band, changed into a gothic metal band and is now back to being a death metal band…
Not only their style, but also their line-up has changed a lot. Between their previous album After the Storm and Okkult there have been some line-up changes as well, which is better known as an invasion of Dutch musicians ;)

The album has been produced by the brain behind the band himself: Alexander Krull, and I can’t say anything else besides that he did a very good job. The production of the album is very neat! I’m also impressed by how sharp the sound is. The recordings are extremely tight, and very professional.

Opening track Pandæmonium immediately sets tune for this album. Straightforward brutal riffs from guitar-players Bauer and Van Der Meer and the ongoing blast-beats from drummer Nijenhuis define the ‘back to death metal’ part of the album. But we also hear a choir and the orchestra who give a perfect atmospheric sound to the album. Following song Death By Metal proofs that Atrocity is also still able to produce pure death metal. It is a straightforward, in your face, and brutal song.

A bit more catchier are songs like Murder Blood Assassination, Satans Braut and When Empires Fall To Dust. In the last two of those, we also see the gothic and more industrial elements of the band come back, which they apparently haven’t set free entirely yet.

Concluding I can say that Atrocity has produced a great album! The production is very well done, and also the variation on the album is nicely done. I’m glad to hear a nice brutal and death metal sound in the music and the vocals of Alexander, but also the (as the title already explains) occult sound, as well in the music as in the lyrics. Highlights for me are Pandæmonium, Necromancy Divine and epic finishing song La Voisine.

Rating: 8/10
Track list:
1. Pandæmonium
2. Death By Metal
3. March of The Undying
4. Haunted By Demons
5. Murder Blood Assassination
6. Necromancy Divine
7. Satans Braut
8. Todesstimmen
9. Masaya (Boca Del Infierno)
10. When Empires Fall to Dust
11. Beyond Perpetual Ice
12. La Voisine