Review by Vladimir on March 4, 2024.

It’s time to butcher the living and raise some dead, because I’ll be covering a unified output by the German death metal band Compulsive and polish death metal band Cry Of The Nile, with their split release The Voiceless Death Symphony which came out on March 31st, 2023 via A.D.G Records.

The Voiceless Death Symphony includes six tracks by Compulsive from their Welcome To My Killing Spree EP and eight tracks by Cry Of The Nile from their "Invocation" EP. Both bands on the split provide some form of wicked death metal, with each output of both bands being distinctive and separated from the other. All tracks by Compulsive are quite raw, merciless and oldschool, whilst tracks by Cry Of The Nile are just slightly polished and heading towards a more contemporary direction, whilst still being oriented towards a very merciless death metal output. Both bands do a pretty good job at handing out some nice banging tunes, with a lot of effort to take their performance to the most obscene and extreme but without trying to outmatch each other. It’s often possible that one band stands out in the split album more than the other, but here it seems that there is a strong sense of balancing that the two go hand in hand with one another, even if both of them vary in styles.

Like I said before, both bands provide their own distinctive death metal songwriting which is either very simple and oldschool like Compulsive, or perhaps more complex and contemporary like Cry Of The Nile. From start to finish, they keep the consistent death metal butchering on the same level all throughout the album, without the split release ever losing its strength or straying far off its course. I personally don’t like personal preferences with bands on split releases, because both bands seem to be in my league when it comes to death, but I think I might like Compulsive just a bit more than Cry Of The Nile, plus I really like their logo a lot because it reminds me of Carnage. When it comes to what the sound production of both bands is like, they actually do a very good job, with Compulsive being more 90’s death metal sounding whilst Cry Of The Nile being just slightly above oldschool and more modern sounding death metal.

I actually think that Compulsive and Cry Of The Nile did a good job at combining their strengths that resulted in this solid work of death metal for the fans to enjoy. I believe that it’s got everything you could ask for from tremolo picking riffs to blast beats and growls, but all presented differently by each band on the split release. If you’d like to give this one a go, feel free to do so.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Chris Pratl on July 17, 2018.

Being a part of the 'German Axis' aside heavyweights as Destruction and Kreator, Sodom has been pushing itself into the hair-trigger recesses of my stomach lining for as long as I can remember, and they've rarely let me down. With Epitome of Torture I was ready for much of the same Sodom, which isn't necessarily a slight as much as a complementary ease with a very familiar sound. 

“My Final Bullet” isn't quite what I expected here, to be honest. This almost grooving Sodom takes some serious notation with its signature sound and implements a very different feel to the music. As much as I was ready for the old blanket of that Sodom tone, I was taken aback for a minute until the groove really grew on me. There is nothing here that really screams sell out or a drastic switch in direction; it's merely a sound that Sodom rarely utilizes, and honestly I'm left wishing for some of the old magic to magically reappear. After settling in with that track, I hesitated a bit when “S.O.D.O.M.” began simply due to the title; could it be an all-too easy chant track to call the lulled masses to arms in bedrooms across the planet? Nope, the familiar Expurse of Sodomy sound is all over this, albeit with much cleaner production. Tom Angelripper's scratchy vocals are, as always, the mainstay of the band's sound and he hasn't lost a step. The throaty yells are everywhere they need to be. I was assuaged, however momentarily. 

As the album moves along to the title track, I find it to be the beginning of a succession of weaker songs making up the fold; the namesake just didn't have a punch or strong feel to it, right down to the thin chorus. I guess every album manages to regurgitate one here and there, and the masters of the genre are no exception, but there was just too many musical lulls to come. The 'typically thrash' elements of Sodom's repertoire are, to many, basic and somewhat stagnating, and I can understand that to a degree. That said, I wasn't happy with the competing vocal tones in “Stigmatized” as it seems to start venturing into transparent territory not needed for the band's continued relevance. Other than that, the song was pretty good. “Cannibal” proves to me halfway in that Sodom's all-out thrashing ferocity of yesterday is a bit tamer today, which can be good or bad dependent upon your affinity for classic bands updating a sound, however slightly. Mind you, the band is still as potent and heavy as ever, but something is just missing. Quite possibly Epitome of Torture suffers from 30-plus-years of much of the same conscious design at the same drawing board. Dare I even say the new Sodom is boring? 

I dare.

Sodom still manages to make systematic killing and torture sound ever appealing to those of us bitter and angry at the stupidity of the world at large, but the once-proud anger and violent rage seems somewhat subdued on the latest release. This is still leaps and bounds over 50% of the thrash metal invading small spaces in the modern day, but, historical considerations aside, Epitome of Torture consists largely of moments, mere sequences really, of inspired brilliance, yet there's always a looming element of restraint herein. “Katjuscha” briefly gets the blood rushing, as does “Into the Skies of War,” but these are sandwiched between otherwise blasé offerings that will keep this one a space-occupier for me this time around. If it's on in a setting where I can't switch to something else, I can deal with it fine, but given the choice I'd go with something else because this one just missed too many marks for this old fan.

Rating: 5 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)