ATROCITY

Okkult III

Massacre
rating icon 7.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Desecration Of God
02. Fire Ignites
03. Born To Kill
04. Bleeding For Blasphemy
05. Priest Of Plague
06. Malicious Sukkubus (feat. Elina Siirala & Zoë Marie Federoff)
07. Lycanthropia
08. Faces From Beyond
09. Cypka
10. Teufelsmarsch (feat. Robse Dahn & Misstiq)


Leading lights of the German death metal scene since the early '90s, ATROCITY have taken a uniquely wayward path from primitive past to stark, brutal future. Along the way, Alexander Krull's enduring crew have veered off in numerous unexpected directions, embracing everything from vicious hardcore to deep-dive gothic rock, and generally refusing to play the tunnel-vision repetition game.

Arguably still best known for 1992's dark death masterpiece "Todessehnsucht", ATROCITY have spent the last few years reinvestigating their deathly roots, as showcased on 2013's "Okkult" and its 2018 follow-up, "Okkult II". The completion of a trilogy that has effectively returned the band to the forefront of modern DM, "Okkult III" aims to solidify the band's reputation once and for all.

As with most of the records ATROCITY have made over the decades, "Okkult III" arrives enshrouded in an opulent, anti-religious aesthetic. Beneath the ghoulish, bloody façade, however, this is a thrillingly straight-ahead death metal album in the truest old-school tradition. A song like "Fire Ignites" exemplifies the Germans' ongoing mixture of evolution and atavistic fervour: with shades of MORBID ANGEL and VADER, this is technical death metal with the emphasis on the metal part; predicated on a combination of hulking, precise grooves and lightly worn virtuosity, Kruller's abyssal growl has a perfectly brutal and bombastic backdrop to scorch across. Likewise, "Born To Kill" resounds with old-school catchiness, but ATROCITY never lose the festering stench of Hell, and every riff drips with blasphemous intent. Both "Bleeding For Blasphemy" and "Priest Of Plague" maintain those same standards of grim intensity, before "Malicious Sukkubus" squirms menacingly into view, with guest vocals from Elina Siirala (LEAVES' EYESKrull's enduring symphonic heavyweights) and Zoë Marie Federoff (CRADLE OF FILTH) bringing ATROCITY's symphonic tendencies to the fore over a blackened mid-paced stomp. Even more adventurous is the closing "Teufelsmarsch", which makes some subtle, backwards nods to the Germans' goth/industrial phase, while conjuring plenty of mid-'90s vibes with pristine blasts and some of the nastiest riffs this side of the last BELPHEGOR album.

Bolstered by the inclusion of the entire album in instrumental form, "Okkult III" never quite hits the heights of the original "Okkult", but as the concluding part of a decade-long return to blistering top form, ATROCITY's latest salute to the darkness hits all the right marks with real venom and plenty of class.

Author: Dom Lawson
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).