Finnish death metal band Desolate Shrine have unveiled their menacing new opus, aptly entitled Deliverance From The Godless Void.
By sticking with their established formula of doom-laden brutality, this album continues where its predecessor – 2015 release, The Heart Of The Netherworld – left off. Having said that, Desolate Shrine has progressed significantly with this new offering. While the band favour atmosphere over riffing, they have added sharp riffs to their menacing sound, most notably on “The Graeae” and “The Silent Star”. They’ve also added some ambitiously epic tracks, with “Unmask the Face of False” almost reaching ten minutes. Other standouts are “Lord of The Three Realms” and “The Waters of Man”.
The album is melodically macabre, highly atmospheric, and punishingly brutal. Desolate Shrine has taken their dark, enigmatic style to another level, and constructed their most substantial work thus far. The band continues to blur the lines between atmospheric death metal, black metal, and doom.
Deliverance From The Godless Void is well produced and highlights Desolate Shrine’s musical prowess. My only criticism and I am nit-picking, is that with a running time of just under an hour, the album is quite long. While avid fans of the genre won’t mind investing the time necessary to appreciate the album in its entirety, new fans may find it slightly demanding. Stick with it, however, as Deliverance From The Godless Void is a rewarding listening experience.
