Genre: Death MetalLabel: Listenable Records
Release-date: September 26th, 2011
Reviewer: Kareem Chehayeb
From Paris, France, Livarkahil deliver one of the heaviest sounds I have heard in a very long time. Their newly released album, Signs of Decay, is one of the heaviest albums I've listened to in a very long time. I don't really know how else to describe it. Think of old Mastodon and Gojira infused with Behemoth and Vader. The band consists of Herr Krauss (HK) on vocals, Traume and Kaiin on guitars, Neil on bass, and Skvm on drums.
After the sinister build up of the short intro track, "In Nomine Patris", "When Hell Is Near" opens up with pounding drums and heavy riffs accompanied by gang chants and HK's ground-shaking growls. The song is is absolutely chaotic and Livarkahil mean business from start to finish. The amount of energy fueled into the song is unbelievable (and the same goes for the other songs). I also have to give credit to Traume and Kaiin on their great guitar work. The riffs are solid and the guitar solo in this song is very reminiscent to Nergal's work from Behemoth.
The next track, Quiet Hersey, has a faster build up, and Skvm really shows his technical ability as a drummer. The double bass work is incredible, and his blastbeats are out of this world. Kudos to the guitarists once again for the beautiful lead work with a simple and melodic solo adding some "color" to the song.
Art of Bleeding is the longest track, at 6:02 minutes. HK shows his vocal range and versatility; all I can say is that I'm VERY impressed. This has to apply to the rest of the musicians too. This song is very dynamic, and has so many different things going on! I really enjoyed this track.
We Hail the Victory is an instrumental track, but it's still great. The melodies are beautiful, and behind them a tight rhythmic unit. There are various parts in the song with some French dialogue in the background. All in all, it sounds like an incredibly sinister song. It's one of my favorites, even though we (unfortunately) don't get to hear HK's ground-shaking growls.
Heaven Shall Fall is another one worth listening to. It's one of the heaviest tracks on there, and as all the other tracks, it has pounding drums, heavy riffs, insane vocals, and technicality all around!
The Flesh of All Damned is a unique track, as it tones down the brutality (just a little bit) and gives way to some darker and melodic movements within the song!
I really enjoyed this album. It really is refreshing to hear a band that does not overdo with progressive elements, because it is definitely becoming a trend these days. On the other hand, I think the band can diversify with their sound just a little bit, perhaps with the keys they're playing in. Livarkahil are on their way though, and being signed to Listenable Records and releasing this tight album, expect to hear more from them soon. I highly recommend listening to this album!
Favorite tracks:
Art of Bleeding
We Hail the Victory
Signs of Decay
I give this album a 7.5/10
