Grim old school death metal of the 90s is what one will find when they hear “Echoes Of The Apocalypse” by Spiritual Holocaust. The 2nd full length from these Finnish pummelers lives up to its name with a buzz saw sound that thunders through and sounds akin of the likes of Grave, Dismember, or even Bloodbath with touches of Deicide. A rather midpaced album it doesn’t feel like it crushes too quickly or drags. The raw fuzzy guitar tone is always present as shown from the opening track ‘Worldwide Domination,’ but never is so overbearing that one cannot hear anything else. Spiritual Holocaust do a good job of layering melodies with the music, such as heard on ‘Serpents for Saints.’ Slower pieces like ‘Trenches of Despair’ are sludging chuggers that use less melody but are somehow more catchy versus the faster pieces.

Vocally, they seem to be a little all over the place. On a track like ‘Worldwide Domination’ they feel very old school and buried in the mix like they would be with Dismember, and then on a track like ‘ Serpents for Saints’ they are more in the front and a lot cleaner, sounding more like Deicide. Still, they never lose their consistency of the growl for the most part, and while here and there the vocalist tends to add a shriek, they mostly stay one sided, for better or worse. A lot of the speed seems to be in the first half of the album as it tends to slow down for the second half, but this is where the drums and vocals tend to shine the best. On a track like ‘Faceless Bodies’ the rather mid paced tone seems to keep all instruments in pace versus a faster one like ‘Apocalyptic Aeon’ which is certainly a crushing pit starter, but the vocals and guitars just don’t seem like they keep up with the guitars.

The doomier elements with the slower tracks add heaps of melody for Spiritual Holocaust and bring them above the average death metal offering. They aren’t often on “Echoes Of The Apocalypse,” but with a track like ‘Last Rays Of The Sun’ the overall stripped down tone works well for them, adding more atmosphere versus brutality, and shine the best when the drums take a more percussive route with the guitar solos versus the more speed beating they usually give. Compared to their debut back in 2017, this album is a little more mature on the lyrical side, shying away from the more typical death metal themes and aiming more for the ‘religious’ attacks that their name embodies so well. Certainly worth checking out for those who like death metal raw and grim without mercy but a slight touch of death n’ roll to it.

3.5 / 5 STARS