“They blacken out the sun and burn the elder gods.”
Resurgency’s previous record ‘False Enlightenment’ is one of my favorite post-90’s death metal albums and I spun it so much over the past several years that I wasn’t sure what to expect listening to “No Worlds, Nor Gods Beyond” for the first time. The recording and production are just as, if not more, orthodox than before. Orthodox death metal, this is. This is written and recorded by fans of old school death metal and it should bring several key bands to mind: Deicide, around the ‘Once Upon the Cross days’ for the drum patterns and menacing vocal intensity. Monstrosity on their debut album for guitar riffing and going beyond the verse-chorus silliness of Deicide. And these things all boil down to a style not unlike Anata, who boiled down Florida style death metal into something technical but also capable of satisfying melody and catchy riff repetition.
I can understand die-hard obscure death metal fans feelings when they say they’d like more variation and surprises in the song patterns on this record. When I sit down and listen to death metal in 2017, I don’t really care how complex or surprising it is, rather I focus on where the riff journey takes me. ‘No Worlds… Nor Gods Beyond’ takes me on an insane shit-ripping death metal ride. It isn’t such a big deal that I’ve heard this style before, I mean I wouldn’t shit on Dead Congregation for being amazing just because they sound a bit like Incantation. The songs stand so well on their own, it could just be a matter of track order but after leaving this album on repeat I found it redeemed in value with each listen. Plus, more importantly, I don’t mind simply taking myself back to the 90’s and setting this right next to hundreds of other good death metal records and seeing it as far advanced above 85% of them. At some point it is ok to stop being offended by retro-styled or influenced music and instead pick and choose what does and doesn’t work for you without unrealistic expectations.
The blasphemy is real here and the vocalist’s delivery retains that ‘evil possessed priest describing his vision for a world of living hell’ feeling. I hope the world burns so completely that the universe is infected with the poisonous ash of humanity’s filth beyond the concept of time. The dust of our planet will put an end to all life yet and really, let’s us all burn the churches first. I’d recommend this album to folks who like stuff like Monstrosity, early Deicide, and Anata. Death metal album of the year, for me.
grizzlybutts.com 