### Dead Congregation: Promulgation of the fall

#### 30/05/14 || The Duff

Dead Congregation are back six years after their masterpiece “Graves of the Archangels”, and after giving a once over of “Only Ash Remain” and “Promulgation of the Fall” this was an instant purchase – about 2008-9 Portal released “Seepia”, Dead Congregation “Graves…” and Impetuous Ritual “Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence”, suddenly this new-wave of Immolation worship was trendy, and Dead Congregation seem to have responded to their impact on the scene by doubling up on evil.

If you don’t know Dead Congregation they play death metal in the Immolation/Incantation vein, heavily influenced by Morbid Angel circa-“Covenant” and “Domination”, perhaps even flirting with their speedier “Formulas”-era, “Where the Slime Live” pinch harmonics galore that echo of a time when death metal was seedy and never so clinically over-produced, plus a bit of Candlemass and one Lord Worm-era Cryptopsy riff that I can make of. That all equates to jars of Grandma’s sweet strawberry jam if you ask me, their productions thick, gnarly, gargantuan.

On “Promulgation of the Fall” the production is masterful to say the least, it will be studied on years down the line in hopes along with Entombed’s “Left Hand Path” and At the Gates’ “Slaughter of the Soul”. Anyone who thinks that “Domination” had no effect on the scene or is a disappointing record is doing Morbid Angel a disservice, as clearly when put in the right hands muggy with cut-through drums is sharper than a pussy with teeth and twice as endearing.

Don’t kid yourself, I know you’d think you could ‘just fuck around them’, sly-dog.

A contemporary comparison to Dark Descent’s Lvcifyre cannot be escaped, but the album “Svn Eater”, while not short of its majestic moments is a lot more full-on, the drawling opening track kills any proper feel the album could have later on, plus there is not much balance between instruments; “Promulgation of the Fall” on the other hand masterfully renders the mix between slithering and blasting through the sludge (sometimes I think the track here of “Quintessence Maligned” is all the cool of “Svn Eater” condensed into one track).

Sometimes the riffs are a little generic, perhaps repeated once too many times, but this strikes me as intentional on the band’s part, a call-back to the glory days; merged with the leads, the eerie feedback, the bilious bellows of A. V. (who might as well be called Hades) and then the highlight, the ragged drumming of V. V. (the album intro of two snare hits followed by bloooood is so damn tasty that I can have its twenty seconds on repeat), we have a record of little excess that precedes its predecessor; one of the first top albums of the year for me in an otherwise disappointing 2014.

- Information
- Released: 2014
- Label: Martyrdoom Productions
- Website: Dead Congregation Bandcamp
- Band
- A. V.: guitars (lead), vocals
- T. K.: guitars (rhythm)
- G. S.: bass
- V. V.: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Only Ashes Remain
- 02. Promulgation of the Fall
- 03. Serpentskin
- 04. Quintessence Maligned
- 05. Immaculate Poison
- 06. Nigredo
- 07. Schisma
- 08. From a Wretched Womb