ETERNAL HELCARAXE

Following their 2010 self-released EP, 'To Whatever End', Ireland's Eternal Helcaraxe have inked a deal with Abyss Records for the release of their debut full-length, 'Against All Odds'. Billing themselves as exponents of "black/epic metal", this is exactly what they deliver through seamlessly changeable down, mid and up-tempo passages that juxtapose an extreme blast-beat, tremolo-picked assault with passages characterised by sublime melodies created through neatly layered guitars, keys, and bass. Echoes of Primordial, Thyrfing, Winterfylleth et al are present in their sound but without sounding like any of said bands; rather Eternal Helcaraxe's aesthetic, while not entirely original, contains enough innovative melodies and twists and turns in tracks' tempos and general composition that their music is fairly captivating on its own grounds. They've forged a sound where sheer brutality meets melancholic beauty head-on and the resulting sonics are thoroughly engaging. It's all about subtle complexity too. There's much going on in the layered instrumentations but the flow of the music is a very natural one so songs' inherent complexities never feel forced. Tempos seem to change in all the right places and add to the emotive dynamic of the band's music rather than throwing in a bunch of blast-beat led sections just because. And the vocals, shared by guitarists Praetorian and Maulgrim, and bassist Thule, are not too high in the mix but work effectively as bitter scowls rasp over the music with sinister malice as narratives of battles unfold. The overall production on 'Against All Odds' is nothing spectacular but has a nice earthy sound that's fitting for both the music and lyrical themes, and the mix is perfectly balanced where instruments and voices combine in malevolent and melancholically epic harmony. All in all, a fantastic debut for this talented bunch of peeps.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Abyss Records

Album

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

50:26

RELEASE DATE:

27th April 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Claim Your Place with the Gods
2) One Still Stands Here
3) Invictus
4) We Assist Death
5) Shadow of the Wolf
6) As the Snow Gathers
7) Echoes Through Our Bood
8) Against All Odds

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Ireland

"...where sheer brutality meets melancholic beauty..."