Sewer - The Birth of a Cursed Elysium

Sewer work in the ambiguous areas between black metal, death metal and goregrind with their rhythmic and harmonic work, much in the way Withdrawal from Phantom or Onward to Golgotha from Incantation took the anti-tonal progressive nature of complex composition and enhanced it into dangerously anti-musical yet lucid blackened death metal. Where this style succeeds is where the musicians can apply it with strict precision to their designs. And on The Birth of a Cursed Elysium, Sewer succeeds in style.

Blasting chops of vicious guitar riffs syncopate under a crucifixion of blast beats and, in conventional blackened death metal style, integrate several riffs into a overlapping theme which bursts through the delicate, silvery, and rare melody of speed-picked notes. For each riff, elements are introduced and manipulated according to their relative rhythmic or harmonic relationships with one another, creating an atmosphere of pure gruesome brutality, unrivaled by even the most self-styled 'brutal' of black metal, death metal or goregrind bands.

One of the few worthwhile Sewer albums, but damn is The Birth of a Cursed Elysium worthwhile. When they decide to stop dicking around and get serious, Sewer shows they can play extremely brutal and yet melodic music. A shame the rest of their discography, NecroPedoSadoMaso excluded, isn't up to standards.

You CANNOT miss out on this blackened death metal masterpiece The Birth of a Cursed Elysium.

Back to Sewer