Another metal band from Oulu, Finland... Man, there seems to be a huge scene going on! Warceremomy (formerly known as Soul Terror) serve out their debut demo 'Altars of War'. The band classify themselves as "new wave of old school death metal".

During these three songs, the band show quite a few different traits. 'My Domain' is a pure death metal song. Its simple approach with both evil and punky methods, in mid-paced/fast tempos, should make fans of this style to prick up their ears, much because the song is so familiar and conventional. 'Mortal Sin' significantly drops in pace, even though it never gets into sluggish gear. The song is far more doomier and also leans towards true heavy metal, and it has a good, ominous story-telling flow. 'Terminal Sin' begins as punky death metal song, but in the midway there's suddenly a melodic part. It simply feels a bit out of place. The vocals are mainly reverbing roaring with some growls and fitting clean vocals on narrative 'Mortal Sin'.

'Mortal Sin' is the sole fully working composition, the two others are too conventional or then inconsequently put together. The bigger failure is the production, which is flat, muddy and powerless. It has certain old school charm, but the guitar sound does not bite, thanks to its bluntness and muddiness, and the bass is way too quiet in the mix. The drums sound lovely organic, though.

'Altars of War' present a band who honour the traditions of old death metal, but still want to sound different from another "cover" band. The mission is partly accomplished, but I miss more terse compositions. Not a bad demonstration though, because it shows some true potential.

Reviewed by Lane
02/14/2010 12:47