Birth Through Gore – The Reign Of Depravity

Not quite surprised from the final result, I considered an obligation to inform brutal freaks about the existence of a new thunderous band from Thessaloniki, Greece called Birth Through Gore. Surprise doesn’t belong here, as I was more than sure that the outcome would be something really exceptional. I had the luck to see the band performing its first gig some months ago, so when you see two guys (guitarist and vocalist) NOT supported by a bassist and a drummer, but still giving all they have, 101% enjoying what they do, then it’s more than mathematically correct that this will bring something full of quality in the end. Such is the case with the debut album of the rookie brutal fellows called ”The Reign Of Depravity” and fasten your headbelts tight enough, for it’s gonna be a fast and painful ride, unless you prepare yourselves right.

The ride is fast and furious, as it lasts a little shorter than half an hour, like the old good days when Deicide released short but pounding albums. Eight tracks which violently grip the listener from any possible place and toss him away to the nearest wall. Damage will be severe but if you are willing to pass through this test, then in the end you’re gonna have the fellowship of this album for life. ”In The Brim Of Decimation” starts the whole slaughter and it is more than clear that you find yourself getting obsessed with a lethal dose of traditional New York style brutal death metal, with the aura of Suffocation, the power of Dying Fetus and the drowning atmosphere of Immolation getting accompanied by the affinity of Hate Eternal’s debut album ”Conquering The Throne”. Added all these, create a cataclysmic riffage and battery assault with no end.

The riffs are the ideal for what the guys want to play. Straight forward, fast, heavy and vast death metal…the brutal way! The vocals are close enough to the ones of Erik Rutan by Hate Eternal (though I’d like him to sound more often than the vocalist of BTG). The recipe is simple and without any need to impress or play it special, the band merges its way to certainty with its compositions, the goal is to deliver all mentioned above and not only they achieve it, but they make you wonder what they would do if they were more than two. As far as I know, they already have taken a drummer, a fact which will help them play even better gigs in the future and certainly enable them to write even more flexible material in the future (if they want to change their sound, odds are not totally for or against it, you can never know what may happen in the end).

”Doldrums” which is the longest and best track of the album in my humble opinion, ”Redeeming Faults” and ”Simulated Obduracy” are some of the tracks that stand out as the ideal ones for me to represent the band’s skills. Don’t mistake simplicity of the material with lack of technique, the guitarist’s right hand can do miracles and plays some hidden sub-riffs which may pass unnoticed if you are not cautious. Despite the album’s very short duration, it will prove to be long enough if you want to train your head from the beginning to its end. Don’t try this if you won’t take them seriously. While the album reaches its end, the initial shock is something from which you won’t elude so easily, so repeat the listening of this 29 minute cyclone and you’ll definitely understand why Sevared Records gave home to the Greek promising deathheads.

”The Reign Of Depravity” is nothing else but the beginning in Birth Through Gore’s route to become a very special band for the extreme scene. The city of Thessaloniki proves once more to be the origin of a classy brutal death metal act, the good thing is that BTG were smart enough to achieve what many other bands of the city (and the country) couldn’t do in the past (if we start naming bands, depression’s gonna surround us, those who know, may agree with me). Submit yourself to the ”Crepuscular Shadows” that grow at the end of the album and don’t hesitate to admit it caught you off guard. None will blame you for doing the right thing and playing this album again and again. It’s been years since a crushing debut like this for the brutal scene of Greece. Don’t miss it and expect nothing less than even better stuff in the future. This is how death metal should be played in many cases.