Echelon are an international death metal supergroup. This is their second album.
With a lineup that contains a huge amount of experience; like the recently released Stench Price, (which shares personnel), I’m just going to list the various members below from the press blurb for ease of clarity –
Dave Ingram (Hail of Bullets, ex-Bolt Thrower, ex-Benediction)
Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Demiurg, Putrevore)
Johan Berglund (Ribspreader, The Grotesquery)
Kjetil Lynghaug (Johansson & Speckmann, Paganizer)
Travis Ruvo (Akatharta, Cropsy Maniac)
This is the third album by this Death Metal supergroup, featuring members and ex-members of Massacre, Death, Edge of Sanity, Mantas, Bone Gnawer, Paganizer, Ribspreader, Liklukt and This Haven.
First off, I want to acknowledge the album title – now that’s a Metal album title. Top work!
But anyway…onto the music. Here we have some Old-School Death Metal with plenty of groove and mid-paced heaviness. This is 90’s-style Death Metal from an era when songs still mattered and each track was thought of in a holistic manner.
As such, the songwriting here befits the music and the Metal flows nicely from track to track. Or interlude, as the case may be. This is a Horror-themed release so there are numerous interludes to progress the story.
The guitar riffs are appropriate to the style, of course, but the melodies and riffs chosen also seem to further the atmosphere as espoused by the narrative. The result is not just a trip down Death Metal memory lane but an immersive experience into the realms of Horror Metal.
Good sound, good Metal. Here’s to The Grotesquery.