Living in the backwoods of rural Oxfordshire, it’s always
pleasing when an extreme metal band raises its gnarled head from the murky
waters of the River Windrush and proceeds to spray you with distortion, bile
and phlegm. Blackened death metal crew Promethean Reign are the latest band to spawn
from the darkest recesses of Witney, releasing only a few pieces of demo
material up until this, their debut EP release entitled ‘Aftó Eínai Pólemos’
(translating roughly to an approximation of ‘This Is War’ in English).
Opening with a foreboding Emperor-styled synth piece, ‘By
the Ashen Light of Dawn’ demonstrates directly what the band are about, by
segueing into a feast of slow burning tremolo picked harmonised guitar and
double bass drum work. The harshly spat vocals are well enunciated, punctuated
with moments of clearly announced oratory pieces, adding to the dark feeling of
revenge and hatred the lyrics convey. ‘The Great Deceiver’ features more of the
demonic harmonised tremolo picking that At the Gates utilized to great effect
in their very earliest of works, before smashing into the ground running with
inexorable down-tuned carnage, squealing guitars and barely contained chaotic
drum work, leveling landscapes to smouldering remains as they go.
‘Dead Gods and Excrement’ shows no sign of letting up
either, whipping up a maelstrom of furious guitars and crashing percussion over
embittered vocals, grabbing you by the throat and choking you out for the
entire 3 minutes of its run time. ‘Titanomachy’ begins with its foot off the
gas, creeping slowly into your psyche with Mayhem-styled shimmering cold
guitars, which shape shift into writhing, serpentine riffage. By the time the
chorus arrives, it has a rather eastern flavour, which when coupled with
bellows of “We Will Rise!”, gives off a strongly triumphant vibe to the proceedings.
The EP finishes up on a high with ‘Burn’, a rapturous Morbid Angel-esque
stomper which is swathed in dark mysticism, and features some of the best solos
and riff work on the EP. Overall, Promethean Reign remind me of a looser, freer
flowing Behemoth at times. Perhaps not quite as blasting or immaculately
arranged as their Polish brethren, but with a billowing organic fustiness to
them that brings to mind many great bands from the Greek extreme metal scene
(the fact the EP was recorded live, rather than clinically pieced together on
Pro Tools likely helps this). This is the physical release on
digipak, limited to 100 hand numbered copies – so if you’re a physical music
lover like myself, best to act quickly.
This is certainly a promising start for
the band, who I’m sure will continue to improve and hone their creative vision
to an even sharper point than shown here – good stuff.
