FMA: Convulse: Evil Prevails (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

In the early 1990's, a couple of death metal bands formed in Finland that would prove to have a very unique style. Demilich was an extremely unusual band with oddball riffs and frog croak vocals. And then there was Convulse. There was just something unsettling about Convulse's sound. It was not massively different from other bands, but their ability to develop a frightening atmosphere was uncanny.

Unfortunately Convulse did not last long. They had just two albums, including the amazing World Without Godbefore breaking up in 1994. With the resurgence of old school death metal and the multiple reunions going on, it came as no surprise that Convulse came back together in 2012. Original members Juha Telenius and Rami Jamsa re-formed the band in 2012 and already have a two-song EP that released that year. The band followed that up with this album.

A lot of the problem with bands re-forming is that they are unable to capture the sound and atmosphere that they once defined them. Some bands achieve notoriety for the brevity of their careers and the few releases they have are lionized. This is unfortunately the fate of Convulse here. There is nothing really wrong with this release but it feels like a desperate attempt to capture the sound of their beloved 1990's albums. Since that time, a number of bands have attempted the same sound to the point that it is not really that unusual any more. Convulse comes out sounding like another copycat.

As I said, there is nothing really wrong here. The songs are well-crafted slabs of sepulchral death metal. The vocals are still as desiccated as ever, sounding as if the vocalist had just risen from the crypts. The riffs are impressive and the leads and soloing adds some nice flair. Some of the songs are downright vicious. These are definitely some great songs and a worthwhile addition to the recent old school death metal wave, especially coming from a revered act like Convulse. The only problem is that it just does not feel like Convulse. It feels like an imitator.

I think this is a decent album, but it feels more like a World Without God imitator rather than a follow-up. I wonder if I hold it to a higher standard because it is a Convulse album. If it were a different band's name on the cover would I give it a higher score? I don't know the answer to that question.

FMA Reviews: Convulse: Inner Evil

Originally reviewed here.

Convulse has been missing in action for years now. The band once released one of the most interesting death metal albums ever at a time when death metal was still fresh and new. As such, they were often thrown in the same conversation as groups like Demilich, groups that brought something strange and exciting to death metal. They released one more album after World Without God and were seemingly lost to time. They re-emerged this year.

Owing to the re-release of their stunning debut album and the revitalization of old school death metal, Convulse have come back from the dead. This is just a teaser unfortunately, a very brief two-song return to the fold. With any luck it does mean that we will be seeing a new full-length from the Finnish death metallers.

One thing that Convulse did well in their first go-around was marry death metal and doom metal into a sickening and chaotic sound that had not really been done before. This was well before there was such a thing as death/doom. Convulse always stuck clearly on the death metal side of things, it is just that they had the occasional slower, down-tempo moment. But their music still sounded as if it was rising out of a deep and dank pit leading to hell. It was dark and disturbing. They have proven with this release that the years have not caused them to lose their touch. This sounds like it should have come shortly after their last album was released in 1994. Age has not caused them to lose any of their gift for crafting rotting and putrid death metal.

Hopefully Convulse can translate this impressive two-track EP into a full-length album. This thing sounds pretty damn good and there just are not enough bands that sound like this.