Ελληνικά
Genre: Death / Thrash Metal
Country: Greece
Label: FDA Records
Year: 2021
Three years after the release of their second album, the Athenians Death-Thrashers Rapture returned with their third full-length album, “Malevolent Demise Incarnation” through the German label FDA Records. Comparing it with their previous works, I think it’s safe to say that despite the fact that Rapture changed several elements in their music (without however losing their identity), they definitely delivered their most extreme release to date.
Judging from the final result, the band refuses to remain captive to a successful recipe, as they push, so to speak, their limits and experiment a lot with their compositions. Even though the band has the tendency to deliver brutal energy with raw speed and complex compositions, this time I think they tried to reach a result that is simultaneously technical and aggressive, yet avoided any kind of exaggeration. More specifically, “Malevolent Demise Incarnation” is an amalgam of all the influences of the band, filtered in such a way that the final result is truly unique.
It is addressed to fans of bands such as Demolition Hammer, Ripping Corpse, Massacra, Suffocation, I can definitely hear some Morbid Angel of the “Covenant” era on the drums – with a hint of Napalm Death during the most explosive passages -, several elements from Voivod in the more melodic places (listen to “Inanimate Frigidity”), while, paradoxically but artfully, there are suspicions of Post Punk elements that remind us of Killing Joke shining in the dark light of that Sisters Of Mercy prism during those passages that feature keyboards. Finally, there are times when touches of Black Metal suddenly pop into pieces like “Requiem For A Woeful Dynasty (Memento Mori)” which in combination with that Sadus-esque Death / Thrash outbursts, create an incredibly chaotic but impressive atmosphere.
Considering the aggression of most of the tracks, the scattered tempo changes, the theatricality in the vocal performance (in some tracks, for example in “I Am Become Death” – excellent references to Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” and Robert Oppenheimer’s statement on the creation of the atomic bomb), as well as the experimental moments with the keyboards, Rapture managed to create an extraterrestrial atmosphere, covered by the veil of fear and hatred, so they go hand in hand with the respective themes of their lyrics.
In summary, I think that Rapture have released one of the best domestic records for 2021 and I firmly believe that it will be surely included in the top albums’ lists of the year in the extreme sound. It seems that they have won the bet of time, maturing constantly in recent years, which has a direct impact on their releases so far. Eager people with passion can never go wrong.
“Malevolent Demise Incarnation” was recorded during the summer of 2020 at Eleventh Hour Studios, with the mixing taking place in September at Ignite Studios. The album was produced by Harry Vougiatzis (in collaboration with the band itself) and was released on CD, vinyl (200 black, 100 red and 100 green copies), but also digitally on all the well-known platforms.
