Review by Felix on May 28, 2023.

Not only in terms of heavy metal, Eastern Europe stood in the shadow of the western half of the continent for a long time. But after the fall of the Iron Curtain, it became more and more evident that the metal scenes of the eastern countries also have a lot of interesting bands to discover. Death Karma joins the ranks of original groups from the east. Inter alia because of personnel overlaps, their musical preference lies in close proximity to that of Cult of Fire. The full-length also demonstrates once again that Master´s Hammer had a big influence on the Czech and Slovak scene. In particular the aura of “The History…” equals that of their masterpieces “Ritual” and “The Jilemnice Occultist”. For example, listen to the short straightforward parts of the opener. They sound like a forgotten recording of the Czech forefathers.

The production unites keyboards and guitars in order to shine with a very dense and intensive sound. It is based on the mighty instrumentation which leads to a powerful and thrilling experience of horror. With these requirements, the burial rituals develop their full effect in an irresistible manner. One has hardly any chance to escape the funeral atmosphere, because the musical implementation reeks of the smell of death without interruption. It is not that kind of rottenness that (Swedish) death metal bands evoke. Nevertheless, the songs seem to be the soundtrack of a funeral which takes place on a grey day in November. This does not mean that the music itself is dreary or monotonous. The group does not suffer from a lack of ideas. Do not be confused by the fact that the band has recorded only six songs. The musicians have integrated a lot of fantastic breaks so that the album does not show any deficiencies. The surprising effervescent keyboard line of the fifth track, which occurs after 58 seconds, illustrates the unexpected twists of the compositions perfectly. By the way, this piece is a very well designed instrumental.

Death Karma takes us on a trip around the world. They want to make us familiar with the special characteristics of different cultures in dealing with death. Countries like India or Mexico are represented. But I have to admit that the compositional approach of the single tracks stays more or less the same during the entire album. I am fine with this, because the constant emanation of transience matches very well with the concept of this full-length. And I do not want to hide that the band has involved rarely surfacing oriental or Indian sound sequences. All in all, the quality of the songwriting is admirably high. Only the third track needs three minutes in order to reach the amazing level of the remaining songs. This is just a minor flaw in view of the highlights such as “China – Hanging Coffins”. It leaves no questions unanswered while offering powerful and captivating guitar lines, unleashed drumming and atmospheric keyboard sounds. The majestic overall impression is the result of the stylish arrangements of harsh sections and mystic interludes. The latter ones are characterised by spheric keyboards which reveal a surreal aura. They stress the mysterious feeling of entering a new dimension.

Of course, you are free to dislike the outcome that the band presents. You can reject its lyrical content as well as the music itself. But you will not have the right to call this album insubstantial, half-baked or uninspired. It is an outstanding work in its own way. The only question is whether you like the combination of keyboards with extreme metal. I guess that no supporter of the black / death genre will deny that the sinister flair of “The History…” hits the mark. Hopefully, its second part will be published before I die. I am curious to see what comes next; Australia? Luxembourg? The Fiji Islands? However, I want to be buried in Germany. But from my side, this project definitely has no priority.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Review by Allan on March 2, 2003.

Swedish death metal. American death metal. Everybody just seems to be a happy camper as long as their death metal fits into one of those categories, wouldn’t you say? If you stray, you pay, it seems. Maybe that’s why The Red Chord is hardly making a wave outside of their small circle, playing with other hardcore bands live (although this band is unmistakably death metal) and only being mentioned by a few death metal fans. Yet that doesn’t explain why so many reviews and opinions of the bands would be glistening.

To be honest, The Red Chord isn’t really tipping the scales in originality. Their debut album, “Fused Together In Revolving Doors,” is still death metal and there isn’t much you can do about that, save if it were a truly progressive effort. And it’s not, but that doesn’t really matter. “Fused Together In Revolving Doors” is an album that doesn’t really sound like something you’d here lately. Better yet, the ideas are actually creative. The songs are dynamic and unpredictable. They flow and are not just a pile of second-rate riffs that were slapped together without any discerning order. The musicianship is top-notch, and the production is absolutely killer.

There’s something extremely intelligent sounding about The Red Chord. Maybe it’s their hardcore influences, leaving no room for cheesy death metal antics. They play with the technicality of a band like The Dillinger Escape Plan or Converge and with the heaviness of a band like Immolation. Anyway, back to the point. What you get with each song on “Fused Together In Revolving Doors” is in fact creative and impressive. There are enough shifts in ‘Like A Train Through A Pigeon’ to please even the most impatient of listeners. The breakdowns found throughout “Fused Together In Revolving Doors” are also a welcome attribute to the fold. Anything in ‘Catalepsy’ is bound to make listeners shake in their boots. The Red Chord are even willing to throw in a few more twists and turns into their music. The melodic, clean guitar of ‘He Was Stretching, And Then He Climbed Up There’ is a good example. So is ‘Dreaming In Dog Years.’ You really just don’t see it being launched at you, and everything in the song seems like a highlight. Perhaps the most powerful song on “Fused Together In Revolving Doors” would be ‘Sixteen Bit Fingerprint’ for it’s excellent use of original guitar licks and the unexpected changes throughout it. It’s great to find an album that can really throw the necessary hooks at you throughout the duration of it enough times to make it rewarding and deserving of being played again. That about wraps this one up, except I might as well mention how impressive the production is. The drums actually sound like somebody is playing them. They’ve got depth to them, and the double bass drum actually has bass! Imagine that. The guitars sound excellent. Each note rings out clear and the guitar sound is thick, punchy and warm.

Bottom Line: It’s about time for death metal fans wake up and give The Red Chord a nod. Overflowing originality may not be on the menu, but at least creativity is, and it’s been cooked to some very high standards.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 9
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.6 out of 10