Desolator: Last Wish

Poland is not really a country that is well-known for its metal scene.  Obviously it has a few big name bands to call its own, the most obvious being Behemoth and Vader, but it has never really gotten the level of notoriety of some of the other European countries.  This is a shame because many of the bands from Poland are particularly vicious, which lends itself very well to death, thrash, and black metal in particular.

Desolator is an older Polish band that actually had its start in 1989.  They released one demo in 1992 before breaking up in 1994.  Recently, original member Kosciej re-formed the once-dead entity, this time as a one-man project.  Kosciej performs all of the instruments and takes over the vocal duties this time around.  This is technically the group's debut full-length.

Desolator fits in well with Vader and other Polish groups due to a raw and intense energy infused into their own brand of merciless death metal.  They have a rather organic brutal and fast-paced style that reminds of some of the earlier death metal bands, before groups began cleaning up their sound.  This is fitting because, as mentioned previously, Desolator originated early on in death metal's history.

I found myself very impressed with this release.  It has the kind of energy and intensity that is missing from a lot of death metal bands these days.  Desolator is certainly a throwback to a more visceral time in death metal's history.  There is a place for that still.