(On October 13th Necrogenesis Records released a new EP by the Japanese band Desolate Sphere, and it caught our writer DGR by surprise in more ways than one, as he explains in the following enthusiastic review.)
Who doesn’t love themselves a good ole’ fashioned Friday the 13th release date? Even across waters and international borders the idea is fun….or most likely lost, since Western world superstitions probably rest at the corner of fuck all and jack shit in terms of how much Desolate Sphere might be aware of it.
But needless to say, while we’ve often portrayed the date as being a harbinger of bad luck and decent slasher films in this corner of the world, last Friday gifted us a pleasant surprise in the form of Maledictus, a new EP from a newer death metal project hailing from Japan.
Lesser creatures out there might admit that they were drawn in almost by their album art alone but we…..oh, that’s what we did too? Oh, well in that case…with our attention initially grabbed entirely by the fiery and bright orange album art, Desolate Sphere‘s Maledictus proceeded to surprise on multiple fronts, though the tracklist being only five songs and the average tempo of every song hovering just shy of blisteringly fast was certainly a bonus.
Maledictus shows off a band that already has the chops to hang with some of the best out there as well as paying homage to a lot of their influences without entirely falling into the multicolored chameleon pit of mimicry.
It begins with a commonly used tactic, and one that we’ll highlight every time because its got a pretty good batting average in grabbing our attention – a little better than Sex Panther in the Anchorman movies – by having Desolate Sphere leap right for the throat on “Ablaze From Within”. It’s common because few things work as well as ‘sudden music’ and there’s nothing quite like pressing play on a release and having the band surge forward at a million miles an hour like they’ve been launched out of a rail gun.
“Ablaze From Within” lays out a lot of the hyperspeed tech-death that Desolate Sphere make their bread-and-butter, making a four piece sound absolutely gigantic and supremely talented. As a project that started in 2020, Desolate Sphere already have one hell of a handle of what they’re going for if the rapid-fire vocals, ever-constant drum battering, and scorched-earth guitar and bass combo are anything to go by as “Ablaze From Within” tears through the speakers for almost four minutes.
“Longing for Blood” follows a similar tactic, though the whole opening guitar chug riff into opening vocal segment betrays a very heavy Black Dahlia Murder influence. Even though you can see the gears turning a bit more than in “Abraze From Within” and its initial torrent, “Longing For Blood” keeps things trimmed and doesn’t overstay its welcome, remaining about as fast and mean as its older brother.
“Trapped In The Unending Corridor” shows that Desolate Sphere do like a song that opens with a high vocal scream to launch the whole affair. It’s also the one song that is sub-three minutes on an album where a not a single song clears four. Maledictus may only be a five-song EP and a little over seventeen minutes but it is also one that seemingly packs a ton of music within it by sheer force of high-tempo and chugging guitars. “Trapped In The Unending Corridor” certainly does its part by providing plenty of chances for headbanging groove to worm its way into and out of the song.
“The Vengeful Betrayal” sees Desolate Sphere going for the neoclassical guitar shred style opening before quickly dropping back into the familiar for them. They spend much of Maledictus at about the clip at which “The Vengeful Betrayal” fights its way through, piling apocalyptic guitar peal on top of apocalyptic guitar peal. The musical descent into the guitar solo about two-thirds of the way into the song is a highlight moment as the atmosphere turns suddenly sinister and not so much focused on constant hellfire. Buttressed by a solid double-bass roll, “The Vengeful Betrayal” rips into one final verse and kicks the door off the hinges on the way out.
Maledictus is Desolate Sphere‘s third EP since their founding in 2020 and at this point in the game they are shockingly well-practiced at the sound they’re aiming for. It’s clear by listening to the EP who Desolate Sphere‘s influences are and how much love they have for their high-speed tech-death style. A lot of it is going to be red meat for extreme metal fans out there and those of us who’ve been around for a while are going to recognize a lot of the blueprints and formulas being followed. However, not everything enjoyable is going to break boundaries, and instead, what works for Desolate Sphere is how good they are at taking known ingredients and creating a solid meal out of it.
Maledictus is thus a pleasant surprise not just because the band seemingly landed on our radar out of nowhere but also because the five songs here are solid head-tearers that provide many an opportunity to whirlwind headbang and mosh like a fool. This one comes as a solid recommend if you’re sniffing around for something new to let your speakers – or headphones if you aren’t too fond of your hair – catch fire to.
https://desolatesphere.bandcamp.com/album/maledictus
https://www.facebook.com/DesolateSphere
https://www.instagram.com/desolatesphere/