Avslut – Deceptis (Review)

This is the debut album from Swedish black metal horde Avslut.

Flying the flag for Swedish black metal, Avslut offer us 43 minutes of groove, atmosphere, and blasting misanthropy.

This is fast and fiery, played in the Swedish style. The band offer an authentic take on a classic sound, and overall Deceptis is a ripping listen.

Avslut use melody well, creating sinister atmospheres as the music blasts ahead with blistering hatred. These blackened melodies are embedded in the music naturally and take into account what the song as a whole is doing, rather than being exuberant and standing out as in many of the more blatantly melodic strains of black metal. Avslut clearly know what they’re doing with this type of music.

The slower, more mid-paced rhythmic parts are colder and have an icy heart, and complement the faster sections quite nicely. The songs are well-structured, making the most of the different speeds and moods to craft engaging and enticing music. Everything here flows well from one moment to the next, and this is an album that you can easily listen to and enjoy, with the playing time passing by before you know it.

Combine the above with the singer’s well-performed classic blackened screams and the clear, yet still aesthetically on point sound, and you have a richly satisfying brand of barbed and spiked black metal.