FALL OF SERAPHS – From Dust To Creation

RELEASE YEAR: 2022

BAND URL: https://facebook.com/fallofseraphsofficial/

While there’s no shortage of death metal bands these days, few can match the power, the technicality and the seemingly effortless catchy brutality of the genre purveyors such as Death, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel (especially the first three albums), Immolation or Suffocation, without exaggerating either the brutal or the catchy aspect of the classic sound. One of these, the Danish Phranelith and their second album “Chimaera” I’ve covered earlier this year (5/6) and the second is the subject of this review, the French quintet Fall Of Seraphs with this, their debut full length released on October 24th this year, in the 8th year of their existence and 5 years after the “Destroyer Of Worlds” EP.

Interestingly named “From Dust To Creation”, the album shares the approximate running time of Slayer’s legendary 3rd installment “Reign In Blood” (likely on purpose) an album widely regarded as the thrash metal record which had lain the base for the death metal genre, although, why Fall Of Seraphs stopped just 2 seconds short of making a 30 minute album militates against my earlier theory in this paragraph. What is clear is that the first 3 legendary Morbid Angel albums: “Altar Of Sacrifice”, “Blessed Are The Sick” and “Covenant” (I don’t include the literal “Abomination Of Desolation” practically a compilation of the first two), that these albums form the basis of Fall Of Seraphs sound, but I hear also some old Death and Obituary as well as Suffocation and even Rebaelliun’s “Burn The Promised Land”, plus, of course, copious references to the aforementioned “Reign In Blood”, and, finally, the Polish deathsters Azarath lurking from the gaps in the melodiscism of Anata’s wonderful 4th full length “The Conductor’s Departure” as well as various other references I’ll address in the individual tracks.

What is immensely satisfying from a position of a seasoned metalhead is the eerie atmosphere with howling wind and ominous melody which instantly recalls the very first heavy metal album, Black Sabbath’s eponymous, something, however, used by many before, such as the aforementioned Phranelith on “Chimaera” or Slayer on “Hell Awaits”, the motiff getting stronger and stronger until the drums usher in a brutal riff, and, credit to the founding drummer Vincent Roubière, Olaf (vocals), Sébastien Canard (2015-guitars), Julien Rousseau (2019-bass) and Thomas “Ogma” Münch (2019-guitars) for making that intro a part of the good opener “The Eradication Dogma”, which is a little standard fare death but both a good representative of the 7 track affair and a good introduction thereof. Besides, the following “Mirror Of Transcendence” is a fantastic composition, with plenty of melody while clearly reminiscent of “Covenant” in the brutal delivery and smart transitions and Olaf’s growls even deeper than (then) Morbid Angel’s David Vincent’s, followed by the slightly less impressive “Divine’s Lament” with hints of Monstrosity and classic, that is, pre-Human, Death, Azarath, guitars melodically wailing like God Forbid’s “Gone Forever” album, set off by a drum pattern reminiscent of Paradise Lost’s “Embraced” and concluded by a frightening sample of souls suffering in the proverbial fires of hell. The unashamedly Slayeric “Fire Path of Punishment” is an easy favorite, now slow and crushing, then crushing but blazingly fast. The final highlight is the easily most ambitious “Brood Of Decomposition” dominated by the aforementioned Anatian melodiscism as well as Suffocationary might in delivery as well as the ending keyboard atmospherics matching the opener for continuity.

While I understand that this is a debut, and, as such, perfection can hardly be expected and is rarely achieved, “From Dust To Creation” contains some tracks which are just good old death metal but not much else, of which the opener is one and the fast and primitive “Altars Of Madness”-like “Psychotic Troubled Senses” is another. The latter track is good but could have used some more variety.

If you love old school death metal with a touch of modern flair Fall Of Seraphs’ debut will definitely not disappoint you. The French have all the characteristics of a future stalwart: the powerful crushing production, the technical skills, the songwriting with a tendency for good transitions and a promising knack for melody and hooks so don’t be that guy, two or four years from now, to hear about their fantastic second and third masterpiece having ignored their humble yet explosive beginnings “From Dust To Creation”.