Review by Alex Grindor on July 12, 2021.

Waking The Cadaver. All of us metalheads have heard this band name or heard their songs, more properly their debut full-length, Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler. This album has been the most hated, insulted, should-be-buried-six-feet-under album of all time, described as a bunch of breakdowns with incomprehensible inhaled vocals, inaudible bass, monotone guitars, and drums unable to keep the tempo. I won't argue with this; in fact, this is all true, but still I hear the music (if it can be called that) of this album, made on a grindcore-based style. You may think I'm joking, that this is just a joking intro to spew acidic vomit later on this album, but no. I like this album. In a certain way, it can remind you of Torsofuck and Guttural Secrete. Now, onto the reasons that make this album a (failed) grindcore attempt.

This album, more than an attempt to some deathcore style, stretches the line of grindcore (goregrind more properly), and though they overuse breakdowns, it fits this a lot on this album. The vocals, while inhaled (which is something I despise), are good enough and meant to be incomprehensible, but if this had some exhaled growl or a reduced numbers of pig squeals, it could have been better. The guitars, while monotone, play some good rhythms once in a while. The bass, well... the only song I heard it in was in 'Type A Secretor'. Actually, there are some good tracks on this album, though the re-recorded version of the demo tracks are not that good, but you will like them. Personally, this album is more decent than their recent releases and I got so disappointed with the other full-length since they suppressed that grind part of them in that release.

Now, the bad points of this album are: the vocals - they're inhaled, incomprehensible, and overuse squeals all over the album. The guitars - monotone, extremely simplistic with not even an attempt to make a solo, and overused harmonics. The bass - since it's almost inaudible, I can't find anything good or bad with it. The drums - they are good sometimes, but they play extremely fast in unnecessary parts of some songs. The songs - breakdown after breakdown after breakdown. They even have breakdowns in the breakdowns!

Despite the massive hate this album has received (and a justified one, of course), I recommend this album if you like goregrind and the like. Who knows, you may hear what no one hears in this album, like me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this album is almost perfection (that would be an insult to the other extreme bands out there), but it's interesting to hear.

Highlights: 'Connoisseur's Of Death', 'Blood Splattered Satisfaction', 'Chased Through The Woods By A Rapist', 'Tire Iron Emblugeonment' and 'Type A Secretor' (for the bass part only).

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 16, 2020.

A long time ago, I began to listen to hard rock and metal (Kiss, "Talk to Me", slightly embarrassing, and AC/DC "Back in Black", much better) at the beginning of the eighties. Afterwards, I saw the first wave of thrash metal come and go. Then I witnessed the Norwegians and further dark creatures who filled the gap that the Bay Area left with the second wave of black metal. And now I just meander around, never knowing what comes next. Yet two things are for sure. Firstly, I have become very old and wrinkled. Secondly, sometimes it's a great pleasure to rediscover an almost forgotten album of times gone by.

So let's put the focus on Thy Primordial's full-length from 2000. These guys were not lazy, it was their fourth release during four years and perhaps this explains why the group acted like a well-oiled battle tank. The Heresy of an Age of Reason sounds fiery, deadly, a little bit rumbling but still all-terrain. Only ignorant fools do not realize in a matter of minutes that the protagonists originate from Sweden, because the black vehemence is combined with these typical Dissection melodies and vibes that one also finds in the fascinating art of Necrophobic, Setherial or (partly) Dark Funeral. There seems to be a unique chromosome in the DNA of Swedish black metal musicians. No matter how intense, brutal and negative it gets, a pinch of dark, capturing melodies is always included. Thy Primordial takes this specific feature to heart. This means that their relatively complex songs are - compared with those of their compatriots - not overly original, but they score with this devilish elegance I like.

Some special sections shine through the everlasting wall of sound. 'Ex Opere Operatu' offers an introduction that reflects desperate sadness, 'Disguised as Beings of Light' holds large-size, majestic lines and 'Tyrannize' delivers the best riff of the album, catchy and aggressive at the same time. All these elements are welcome, but, even better, the album works as a whole. Although the band has nothing in common with Mercyful Fate, the more or less occult artwork visualizes the music very well. Pure black metal spreads like incandescent lava, an unstoppable, natural force. Maybe the band should have shortened one or two tunes. Moreover, a few number of tracks is not easily accessible, but this is no big deal. The main thing is that integrity and homogeneity go hand in hand here and the result is a mostly furious black metal album which features, inter alia, the typical guttural vocals. The performance of the lead singer deserves the same description as the entire group and album: not pioneering, but passionate and simply good.

Swedish metal albums hardly suffer from a weak production and The Heresy of an Age of Reason joins the long row of powerful and brawny works. Even the very fast parts of the album do not sound blurred or unclean, but the recordings also do not show any signs of sterility. It's a pity that this band closed its rehearsal room forever after six records, because the dudes did not make many mistakes. Maybe the surplus supply of comparable formations sealed the fate of the here presented horde. Anyway, if you are interested in dexterously performed Swedish blackness, you will probably share my preference for Thy Primordial.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10