While I would prefer getting a full length from this Italian band, I will take whatever I can get. The first song steps back from the more death metal infused take on black metal these guys normally have and finds the pace dropping down to something more comparable to Celtic Frost, though dressed up in darker atmosphere and slightly less theatrical in the delivery than they have been in the past. They pick up the pace and get more aggressive for " All in One Night". The production value sounds like it has been dialed up a little. The feels heavier, though less hooky than previous albums.
"Nightmare Be Thy Name" is an odd choice of a Mercyful Fate song to cover. You have always been able to hear the Mercyful Fate influence in this band's music, mainly the guitar parts, which are what was nailed in this cover. Granted it is for the best that they did not try to go far King Diamond's vocal approach as that would have been an epic fail. They stuck to the kind of snarls they are good at and still made this work. I am the worst person to try to sell a Mercyful Fate cover to since King Diamond is my favorite metal singer. "Circle Zero" finds an odd vocal approach, it is still harsh vocals, just done in a way where it sounds like the air is being sucked in rather than pushed out in a growl. The bass playing is very interesting here as well. I like how this song is angular and different from what you typically think of them doing.
On this ep they show more of their range as a band than most of their full-length album. Though their album 's convey a sound truer to who they are. As the last song finds them sounding like every other newer death metal band. Are they able to hold their own and do a pretty good job of playing the typical sound of death metal in 2022 ? Yes, but where are all the creepy satanic horror movie sounds that define who they are? For that reason I will round this down to a 9, which is still better than what we are hearing from 90 percent of the death metal out today, so maybe Chris Barnes is right, we will have to wait and see, but they kinda lost their black metal touch here. It was just a touch they had to their sound but aside from the Mercyful Fate song it is missed.,
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