DIES IRAE - "THE SIN WAR" (METAL BLADE)

 

Dies Irae is the band that, to many including myself, seemed to be a spin-off project of Polish death metal legends Vader. Mauser (guitar) and Doc (drums) are in said band. However, little did I suspect that in fact Dies Irae recorded their first demo ("Fear of God") in 1992, and the band in fact split when Mauser left to join Vader. Little, also, did I suspect that Mauser did vocals in the old Dies Irae incarnation... Apart from Mauser and Doc, Dies Irae also consists of Noby (of Behemoth) and Hiro (from Sceptic).

Anyway, having set straight that bit of info, on to "The Sin War", the second Metal Blade CD after their first (and awesome) "Immolated". With "The Sin War", the band seems to have gone for a less brutal approach. The first two tracks - "Comrade of Death" and "Incarnation of Evil" could have fitted quite seamlessly on "Immolated", but after that the band introduces (shudder!) a certain degree of melody. Also, the band have introduced more guitar solos - insane shredding with wild whammy bar abuse if ever I heard it.

Other than that, there is not a whole lot to be said other than the inevitable comparisons to Vader. Dies Irae are more refined (i.e. more melodic, but not much) and have darker vocals than Vader. If you liked the total full-out aggression of "Immolated", you may have to get used to "The Sin War" a bit...

Click here to buy or check out this CD

RK

 

Written August 2002

 

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