Review by Adam M on April 16, 2014.

I couldn't be more impressed with the new Triptykon. They make nods to the past, but push forward to the future in so many grand and enjoyable ways here. The moments that are pure early Celtic Frost glory are nicely interspersed with much better experimental material. There were a couple moments on Eparistera Daimones where the band became a bit like a jam session and wandered too far off into oblivion. This album is tighter and these moments are more concise and better fleshed out than the last time around.

The punishing To Mega Therion-esque opener in “Tree of Suffocating Souls” is counterbalanced with more avant-garde songs like “Aurorae” to perfection. I was highly impressed by the second track on the disc “Boleskine House”, which starts in a typical fashion then becomes a nice duet between Tom G. Warrior and a lady. Then there are the epic tracks like the long “Black Snow” that do indeed have several doom moments as well. There is so much variety to be found on this disc that there is very little fault with it. The track “Demon Pact” is perhaps the low point, though it’s still a great track. The guitar riffing is intense and foreboding and more than appropriate for whatever atmosphere needs to be attained. The vocals of Tom G. Warrior vary between the old Celtic Frost growls, some midrange types and the chant that he so effectively used on Into the Pandemonium.

Modern production values really help the band’s vision over the old Celtic Frost discs as well. The infusion of the dark atmosphere is heard in a crisp and powerful manner which is aided by the production throughout. After all of these years, it’s great to see Tom G. Warrior at the top of his game. Melana Chasmata is a dense, thoughtful and massively invigorating recording. Any fan of Mr. Warrior’s previous material with Triptykon or Celtic Frost will find lots to be enamored with on this disc.

Overall: 9.5/10

Review by Carl on August 30, 2020.

You hear it uttered left, right and center: 2020 is already the worst year ever according to a lot of people. I can see where they are coming from, and the reasons why are clear to everyone who hasn't been living under a rock these past months. But I'm not ready to write off the year completely though, and the reason is this: it has been a great year for metal releases so far. We have been blessed with awesome releases by the likes of Perdition Temple, Funeralopolis, Blasphamagoatachrist, Slaughter Messiah and Violent Hammer and new albums by Deathstorm, Venomous Concept and Voracious Scourge are coming in the near future. So, it was just natural that I was happy to see that my favorite brutal death metal one man army Putrid Pile has joined in the fun with a new full length.

And it sounds exactly as you would expect a Putrid Pile album to sound. As always the music is executed with precision and the song writing is well thought out. The individual tracks are packed with variation and brutality. Tempo changes and breaks are constructed into brutal death metal tracks that hook themselves into the listeners brain after just a few spins and subtle details are woven into the individual tracks as well. Good examples of this are the haunting guitar melody that runs through part of 'Gore and More', the punkish riff in 'Savage Lust for Blood' and the searing leads that occasionally pop up throughout. And there's even more subtleties that pop up after repeated listens: a hint of black metal dissonance in 'Bonedigger' and a nod to Devourment at the start of 'Starving for Your Blood'. And is that "Covenant" era Morbid Angel in the beginning of 'No Rest for the Wicked'? All of this greatness is held together by Shaun's belligerent vocals and a stellar production job.

There is only one point of critique I have and that is that the percussion sounds a tad more clinical than I'm used to from Putrid Pile. Whenever there's a fill, it kinda sounds like the cd is skipping. Other than that, this is another awesome release by Shaun LaCanne, a man who seems to be simply incapable of disappointing me.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10