Review by JD on November 22, 2013.

When I think what there all is about France, I have to admit the thought of Heavy Metal does not instantly leap into my mind. I think of well-aged wines and cheeses, refined food and a long history when I think of France, not any types of metal. I have heard only a handful of bands from France. With this review, it will show that perhaps we need to look into the country’s metal scene a little harder.

Surtr comes from the Northeast of France, and brings a tight and powerful Traditional Doom Metal style packed and polished with its own sort of twists and turns to the world. Consisting of only three members, Surtr still bring forth a very explosive sound. Named after the Norse Mythology Giant, Surtr’s music seems to be as large and powerful as the Viking legend itself.

With all of the subtly of a Tiger tank on low gear speed, these three French Metallers pull no punches and give a Classic Doom Metal performance. One listen to either 'Rise Again' or the glacier-slow speed power of 'Sonic Doom', it is clear that this trio is one impressive-albeit slow and brooding, powerhouse that is hard to ignore.

Comparing this French band with some of the Doom Metal’s highest elite like the mighty Candlemass or even older My Dying Bride– Surtr is one of a handful of bands out there that will get into that inner Doom circle. With this type of excellence, I am sure that even the non doomers out there will be very pleased if they picked up "Pulvis Et Umbra" for their collections.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9.5
Production: 8.5
Originality: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Adam M on July 18, 2014.

This album is a very nice surprise. An album that blends heartwarming shoe-gaze music nicely with brutal death metal is somewhat of a rarity and Fallujah pulls this off extremely well.

Imagine having Meshuggah, Behemoth or Decapitated performing with a nice background of Alcest and you'll have a decent idea of what to expect, but the sum of the parts is actually more interesting than that. Some killer drum playing and tech-metal oriented riffs are complemented throughout by a wonderfully spacey background that is always compelling. Never does the music feel over-ambitious or too sparse. The Flesh Prevails' combination of the punishing and ethereal portions is always done tastefully to complement the music in the best possible manner. Riffing is similar perhaps to what the band Textures is capable of, but the overall mix with the gentle atmospherics makes things even more interesting overall.

Balance is something that is nicely achieved here and makes for a thrilling album at pretty much every moment. See the excellent The Night Reveals for an example of the excellent drumming combined with an array of intricacies into a certain album highlight. All of the songs have something different to offer, however. If there is a flaw here, the hard core-style vocals suit the music, but are certainly the least worthy aspect of the disc overall. Otherwise, the almost air-tight music is hard to criticize.

There is that little bit of extra thought and creativity that most heavy metal fans should be able to dig into. Fans of death metal and progressive metal in particular should look into this as soon as possible.

Rating: 9 out of 10