By now, most extreme metal fans know the story of Swedish death metal act Evocation, who released a killer demo back in 1992 and then disappeared from the scene for 12 years before finally regrouping to release their 'official' first album. Since then, the band have been fairly active, though it's taken them five years and a few line-up changes to get The Shadow Archetype, their fifth album overall, finished and released on Metal Blade Records. Funny thing is, even on first listen, The Shadow Archetype doesn't sound at all like a band in transition or turmoil, instead, the group are firing on all cylinders and have created 11 examples of brutal yet melodic death metal featuring a wealth of tasty guitar playing and highly effective growing vocals. Just listen to those glorious twin harmony guitars and savage vocals on "The Coroner", the furious riffing of the pounding title track, the brutal "Sulphur and Blood", and the tumultuous grooves on the monster track "Condemned to the Grave" for proof of just how much mean intent Evocation still have to deliver to their listening audience.
One could certainly argue that Evocation aren't reinventing the wheel here on The Shadow Archetype, but this is without a doubt still high quality Swedish death metal that any genre lover will enjoy.
Track Listing
- Into Ruins
- Condemned to the Grave
- Modus Operandi
- Children of Stone
- The Coroner
- The Shadow Archetype
- Blind Obedience
- Survival of the Sickest
- Sulphur and Blood
- Imperium Fall
- Dark Day Sunrise
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