Phazm :"Scornful of Icons"

This is fairly straight forward death metal with a tinge of darkness to it. There are hints of a Watain influence here, along with stuff going back all the way to Slayer and Mayhem. The double bass propels these guys at the speed of more conventional metal, which is a mix of varied styles, as I think we have past the era of metal that in some way will not have the influence of black metal upon it. To this band's credit to come from France there is way more of a Swedish feel to what they do than the typical Deathspell Omega shadow that seems to be cast out over bands coming from France these days. Which is a shame because at one time, not so long ago France had some of the best metal coming out. The second song is under the four minute mark so they prove they are not bound to long winding epics. This song also has more of a thrashy feel to it. The thrash continues but with a much thicker groove on "the Soothsayer". By the end of the song Behemoth is coming to mind. Things accelerate to a more raging pace and the production of the vocals seems to have changed a little by the time we get to "the Godless Pope".


"Howling For You" brings out a much bigger riff and finds the band almost in a more Judas Priest like place. While it might not be as consumed with rage is its a more thoughtfully written song that resists the urge to blast off until the final minute and then returns to the more accessible metal riff. There is a more dramatic pound to "Conquerors March". It doesn't maintain a march for very long and reverts to a blur of speed for the verses and only becoming deliberate for the chorus to create a more black metal dynamic. The title track is more powerful it also finds them falling back into a more Behemoth like place. Female vocals chime in to create a more melodic build toward the end of the song. The keep up the energy level, but the last song is just a little bland to me. I'll give this album a 7.5. I rounded it down as their was nothing about it that really wowed me as to who they are as musicians. I do think they are good at what they do and have potential so would be up for checking out where they go from here.