Evocation: Illusions of Grandeur

Among the litany of bands that came out of the Swedish death metal scene, both the Gothenburg and Stockholm sound bands, Evocation somehow got lost in the shuffle.  They were only able to put out two demos in the early 1990's before disappearing entirely for over a decade.  That is something of a shame because Evocation is every bit the equal musically as Entombed, Dismember, At the Gates, and any number of other bands well-known from the scene.

Despite originally forming in the early 1990's, Evocation did not release their debut full-length until 2007.  Since then, they have been prolific, with this 2012 album being their fourth full-length.  Their first three were more of the Stockholm, buzzsaw-style of death metal.  This one changes pace a little bit.

Evocation has gone for an overall more melodic sound on this release.  The result is something of a mix between Dismember and Amon Amarth.  This is something of a letdown really, but the album still sounds pretty good.  Evocation has always been about a fast, crunching riff style with a very good sense for writing catchy songs.  Unfortunately on this album the band goes a little bit too far in seeking catchiness and winds up sounding a lot like the latest from Sweden's favorite Viking enthusiasts.

The songs are all very interesting, in particular "Divide and Conquer" and "Perception of Reality".  The band still fuses the Stockholm sound and the Gothenburg sound, crafting intricate melodies that go along well with the otherwise intense death metal riffing style and they can alternate or blend the two with ease.  But they went a little too melodic on this one as opposed to past albums.

I really do enjoy listening to this album.  It is definitely catchy and, dare I say, fun.  However it is a shame that somewhere along the line Evocation lost their personal identity.  I blame Century Media personally.

Albums I Missed in 2012

PALLBEARER: SORROW AND EXTINCTION

GRAND MAGUS: THE HUNT

GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT: BOW DOWN BEFORE THE BLOOD COURT

EVOCATION: ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

INCANTATION: VANQUISH IN VENGEANCE

Strange Cover Art Pt. 4: Horror Continued Once Again

Still going on this, not too many more to go.

KING DIAMOND: GIVE ME YOUR SOUL...PLEASE

King Diamond will be discussed at some point on this blog, I promise that. This particular album, like many of the band's other albums is a concept album. The band specializes in ghost stories. I will discuss this one at a future time, but I won't get into it here. The cover is representative of the story, featuring a little girl in a bloody dress. The music is a fairly straightforward early 1980's melodic metal style, featuring King's trademark falsetto vocal style and haunting lyrics.

EVOCATION: TALES FROM THE TOMB

Evocation is an early 1990's Swedish death metal band that recently reformed in order to take advantage of the recent interest in that scene. This is the band's comeback album and it is very typical of the style, possibly one of my favorite albums from the genre. The cover art is extremely Lovecraftian, a big plus in my book. I'm not sure what we're looking at, but it's eerie.

RAVENCULT: TEMPLES OF TORMENT

Ravencult is a band from Greece playing a style of black metal mostly similar to the second wave black metal bands out of Norway with a little bit of typical Greek style added in for good measure, although the band does not sound at all like countrymen Rotting Christ or Varathron. The cover is simple, but effective, dark and intimidating.

IMMOLATION: SHADOWS IN THE LIGHT

The great Immolation of course plays occult death metal like Morbid Angel, Incantation, and others. The sound is somewhat technical, but brutally punishing and unrelenting. The cover is of an angel on fire, calling to mind such movies as The Prophecy.

CELTIC FROST: MONOTHEIST

This album is Celtic Frost's comeback album, and what a comeback it was. One of the spookiest, scariest sounding albums I have ever heard. Unfortunately, Celtic Frost has once again disbanded, making this the last album by the band at this point, unless they somehow reform again, which would be shocking. The cover is simply a profile picture of the band's singer, but is is frightening and disturbing looking. I can't describe why it is so disturbing but it is.