FMA Reviews: Engulfed: Through the Eternal Damnation

Originally reviewed here.

I have been able to find virtually no information on Engulfed out there, so I really went into this one blind. The little information I have been able to find is that Engulfed is a death metal band from Turkey and that they are made up of members of Deggial, Burial Invocation, and Decaying Purity.

This is a very short EP, featuring only four songs and being less than 25 minutes in length. But do not mistake its brevity for being an easy album to listen to. Engulfed is brutally intense. Engulfed's style of death metal is most similar to Incantation and Angelcorpse and other more occult death metal bands. The music is a whirlwind of riffs and pounding drums and deep guttural roars. There are some black metal elements thrown in to the point that many will probably call this a blackened death metal band, but for the most part this is just a fast and furious underground death metal band.

Engulfed apparently do not believe in being calm. This EP blasts by with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. It is an absolutely punishing album. One which is bound to cause strained necks and headaches. There are a few moments where the music slows down a bit, but the drums continue to pound away and what the band decreases in intensity, they more than make up for with dissonant chords and atmosphere.

For everyone out there claiming that death metal has become sterile and lifeless, I would urge you to check out Engulfed. It's just a shame this is only an EP and not a full-length.