Triumfall
Antithesis Of All Flesh

June 2010
Released: 2009, Regain
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: JP

I’ve always been upfront with my feelings on originality. It’s not important to my enjoyment of music. I don’t actively seek out bands who try to do something just for the sake of being different. I can easily enjoy something that is sincere and well-executed and adheres to the standard archetypes of the genre. This is why I can really enjoy an album by a new band like Triumfall. Here we have a third or even fourth generation Black Metal band (depending on how you count) from Serbia of all places and it is quite decent.



Do Triumfall add anything new or surprising to the genre? Not at all. That’s not a big deal to me. The subtle nuances are enough to keep me interested and entertained. So after the obligatory spooky intro, with chanting Gregorian monk style voices and the tolling church bell, the band rip into some standard black Metal. It’s all quite well done, delivering the evil goods.



There are lots of swirling keyboards and a wide range of vocals from the standard ‘Dani Fitlh-esque’ shriek vocals to a more gruff and growled delivery as well, counter-pointing each other nicely. Naturally everything is very fast, well-executed and totally professional. Maybe some purists might consider that a problem, I don’t. It’s well-recorded, good production, a nice separation in the mix, although I would have liked the guitars upfront in the mix a bit more. There are quite a few things going on in the songs, flourishes of acoustic guitar, splashes of keyboards, slower parts all sprinkled among the blast-beats and endless waves of admittedly simple riffing. There are even rare hints of a clean male vocal but nothing symphonic or epic sounding, nor over the top soprano vocals, just enough diversity to make it interesting.



ANTITHESIS OF ALL FLESH is a very earnest and concentrated effort by this young band. Do they have what it takes to stand out in the pack of literally thousands of Black Metal bands worldwide? Only time will tell, but until then I’ll enjoy this little slab of Black Metal without reservation.