It's never easy to combine multiple sub-genres of metal and make for a seamless, uncluttered listening experience, but that's exactly what Poland's Eternal Deformity have attempted to do in their career and especially on their latest release for Temple of Torturous, No Way Out. Blending elements of black metal, symphonic rock, death metal, prog, doom, and gothic, Eternal Deformity demand full attention from the listener and promise fulfilling rewards. No Way Out, as with any of the bands previous albums, will take some time for all the little nuances to fully sink in, but you get that full on assault as soon as you dive into "Esoteric Manifesto", as the orchestral keyboards lay down a wonderful foundation for the technical riffing and the mix of black metal rasps & gothic styled clean vocals. Sledgehammer guitars pound over tight rhythms and gothic ambience on the heavy "Sweet Isolation" before the brutal symphonic black metal kicks in, while the epic 10+ minute "Reinvented" sees death & black metal collide with prog for a pummeling yet sophisticated ride. The lovely "Mothman" is pure gothic tinged prog, complete with floating keyboards and acoustic guitars, yet the metallic mayhem creeps back in for the lengthy "Mimes, Ghouls And Kings", the band opting for a more progressive metal type approach with plenty of twists and turns, guitars & keyboards battling over crushing rhythms and a blend of clean & harsh vocal styles. The album ends with another epic, the massive "Glacier", another tour-de-force of death & black metal sprinkled with symphonic prog elements, as massive guitar riffs get zapped with blazing synths and a myriad of vocal styles before a grand finale featuring choirs and bombastic orchestral swells.
Pretty impressive from start to finish, No Way Out is a rousing success for this Polish band who really need more recognition from the metal masses. Remember the name, Eternal Deformity, and be sure to seek out this latest gem and rest of their solid catalog.
Track Listing
1) I
2) Esoteric Manifesto
3) Sweet Isolation
4) Reinvented
5) Mothman
6) Mimes, Ghouls And Kings
7) Glacier