Immortelle was the 1996 debut of Germany's death/thrash metal outfit Dew- Scented, and here in 2010 Metal Mind Productions are reissuing & remastering this and the band's entire catalog. Also included in this reissue are the demo tracks that made up the tape Symbolization, which was released back in 1994 before the band was signed to Steamhammer/SPV.
Much of Immortelle is rough and raw, pure evidence of a band still looking for their 'sound'. Though they would later turn into a well-oiled & find tuned extreme metal machine, here on their debut they were still finding their way. That's not to say that there isn't a good amount of solid metal going on here, which there certainly is. The band early on had a knack for coming up with some solid riffs, which you can hear on such crushers as "In Flames", "Black is the Day", "...Yonder", and "Beloved Elysium", which combined the more technical nature of thrash with death metal's brutality. They even go into doom territory on the spooky "For You and Forever". The weakest part of Immortelle is easily the anguished shouts of Leif Jensen, who comes across more as a hardcore screamer than a death metal vocalist. On many occasions, his style just does not fit these songs. Thankfully his vocal range evolved on later releases, which was good timing as the band continued to grow in leaps and bounds from here.
The bonus demo cuts are of obvious poor quality considering they come from a tape source, but are included here for nostalgic purposes. Metal Mind's reissue comes housed in their normal charming digipack, complete with lyrics and an essay on the band. All in all, this was a promising start for Dew- Scented, but the best was yet to come.
Track Listing
1. In Flames
2. Silenced
3. Black Is The Day
4. Thirst For Sun
5. Unending
6. Afterlife/Afterlove
7. ...Yonder...
8. Beloved Elysium
9. For You And Forever
10. Poets of Dirt
11. Native Soil Venus
12. Theory Of Harmony
13. Poets Of Dirt [*][Demo Version]
14. Black Is The Day [*][Demo Version]
15. Immortelle [*][Demo Version]
16. Unending [*][Demo Version]
17. Native Soil Venus [*][Demo Version]
18. Beloved Elysium [*][Demo Version]
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