An overflowing gravemass at the twilight of sentient human witness, the rifle-cracking apocalyptic clamor of San Diego/Portland-based death metal quartet Ascended Dead spills its greying froth down the valley upon return, salting the land with the putrid ashes of the last to be scorched and stomped out. Cracked from the gorm-skulled assault of bestial death yet crafted with a superior sense of traditional rhythm and flow, ‘Evenfall of the Apocalypse‘ is both a delivery upon the expected savagery per the band’s past and a freshly destructive path for the crew who’d iterate and expand upon their best traits on this long-awaited album number two. Though they’ve simply built upon their own well-designed foundation with greater capability here these folks still manage to hold their position as a standout within the swollen realm of death-leaning war metallic craft.

Ascended Dead formed circa mid-2011 between folks who’d gotten their start in death/thrash metal bands Decay and Phantasm alongside prolific drummer C. Koryn who would also concurrently feature in Ghoulgotha around that time. The best way to describe their sound is a crossing of late 80’s death metal’s riff-obsessed hysteria and the erratic storming pulverization of bestial death metal, a blur of noise from afar but a brick shithouse of violent and somewhat technical rhythms when given focused attention. Their first demo (‘Ascended Dead‘, 2012) more-or-less married the rush of South American war metal with a sort of early Florida death metal touch, of course this stood out because of the precision violence on hand which was already built on strong rhythm guitar interest and the finesse of the rhythm section rather than blunt and blatant bashing.

One of the most important records to set the high bar for the energy and attack of pure death metal per my own taste is Insanity‘s ‘Death After Death‘, a record which creates the sensation of eruptive feats daring to hit speeds that’d threaten to topple over if not for strong technical aptitudes. Though there is no shortage of chaotic death/thrash the world over beyond the early 90’s which’d been comparable in their amplification of this feeling the true legion who would push the limits of that already over-the-top rhythmic sense into total abandon would become more common beyond 2010 or so as war metal and bestial death metal began to catch audience with folks who’d been born in the 90’s. For my own taste the best groups to arise in this era weren’t entirely related to this phenomenon of war metal so much as they began to push the boundaries of chaotic late 80’s thrashing death metal to a maniac extreme, specifically Beyond, Vorum and to some degree Degial — elite classicists who embraced of maniac riffcraft at a high rate, hinging their attack on bestial aggression. Because I was so vocal about my appreciation for those three bands circa 2013-2015 I was soon introduced to Ascended Dead per their first few tapes for Blood Harvest Records. ‘Arcane Malevolence‘ (2015) in particular bridged the ruthless punishment of war metal with a still ancient flair for the thrashing, grooving and blasted-at language of ‘old school’ death metal. Though that first EP is still my own point of nostalgia and interest in the band no doubt they’d their whole gig sorted, signed and delivered with the definitive release of their debut full-length (‘Abhorrent Manifestation‘, 2017) which they’ve more-or-less iterated upon the general shape and stature of six years later.

In truth this second album makes the first sound a bit tame, not only for its generally amplified sense of spatial resonance but for the rush of wobbling, limb-snapping and concrete clawing riffcraft that snarls out of its first few pieces, a few of ’em which’d already been demoed or given preliminary versions on smaller releases between 2019 and now. While the love for Possessed-style lead guitar runs still characterizes their best moments (“Ungodly Death”) this time around the rush up front has an ominous, stately hammer which kinda shreds and has a bit of an Immolation-esque aftertaste to its rhythmic chop as “Abhorrent Manifestation” sets a mean tone for the record and the pairing of “Nexus of the Black Flame” b/w “Bestial Vengeance” deliver the meat of the experience with a furiously unhinged yet calculated attack. This is sort of the obvious stuff the simpler rhythms and classic nods which build an erratic, sometimes unpredictable shape, that is more or less the Ascended Dead deal restating itself after several years so that folks might rediscover their gig. The apex of the cataclysmic Side A here is the loudest, most frantic guitar strangling heave of “Tantum Bellum”, a big dumb push to tie off that first half.

With fortifications set and a few of their best numbers from recent years pulled in for reinforcements the real action of ‘Evenfall of the Apocalypse‘ for my own taste comes in its second half, wherein we break the surface a bit and get a good long stare at where they’re going with this sound beyond the familiar and expected energetic brutality of it all. “Inverted Ascension” sums this less maniacal direction in its shredding ‘Gateways to Annihilation‘ steeped atmosphere, particularly as the song ends. While it isn’t a profound statement, nor are the 2-3 songs that follow, I could appreciate the readably blunt logic of this portion of the album and the classic sensibilities that kept it moving such as the variety of lead guitar treatments and the wailing vocals at the apex of “Visceral Strike”. Beyond that point “Passage to Eternity” echoes “Dormant Souls”, the acoustic piece from ‘Abhorrent Manifestation‘, but steps it up to a flamenco shred fest somehow, a reflection of the personality of the artists involved developing over the years and a showcase of just how much more capable they are six years later. That said the space between “Inverted Ascension” and “Evenfall of the Apocalypse” isn’t as profound as those two pieces are, particularly the title track which’d served as the finishing touch the full listen began to beg for as Side B pursued its own multi-directional tangent.

Though I’ve enjoyed every release to come from Ascended Dead to date I’ve never found their work necessarily the sort to stay stuck in mind too deeply beyond their exaggerations of classic death metal hallmarks, a touch which they’d already made their own back in 2017. While I appreciate ‘Evenfall of the Apocalypse‘ as a bigger, better follow-up in most respects its major appeal is in its upgraded fidelity, sharpened performances, and the feeling of consistency it builds as a continuation of their major thread beyond the previous full-length. Nothing is shocking here but all of it is good as music best served in the moment, or, in a live setting. Time will tell in terms of how this record holds up versus their debut but from my point of view it should be considered a solid upgrade overall. A high recommendation.

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