Strychnos - Undead Unsouls Abound

'Undead Unsouls Abound' is Strychnos' first official EP. Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, this group goes for a mix of black and death metal, although they sound more like death metal overall. The best comparison to the music on this album would probably be a more groove metal or heavy metal oriented later Cannibal Corpse, especially due to the vocals. Many of the tracks tend to stick to the more chugging riffs such as "Undead Unsouls Abound," but there are melodic bits weaved in between as well; on this track the solo bits sound even eastern influenced. Others like "B.A.T.H.O.R.I" are more straightforward with their repetitive and groove set bits in the riffs that often will explode to heavier music which is similar to bands like God Dethroned and their album 'Lair Of The White Worm' with a track like "Salt In The Wounds." It is catchy, but also simplistic. Fortunately, to avoid this, Strychnos add in a few solos to break things up. The band also employs lots of samples and spoken words, such as on the end of the track which is just terrified screaming and a brief prayer to the Antichrist on the track "Black Banners." However, sometimes it doesn't really work when used in large doses, such as the first minute of the track "Bestial Desires" which just seems to drag on and on with the spoken word sample. It is very theatric, but not the most effective when listeners are waiting expecting the death metal to come. Still, despite this brief shortfall, Strychnos are on to something with their music here- which is a step up from the demos they've been releasing. Rather than just being raw death metal that didn't seem to have much purpose, it seems like the has some more melody and defined direction while adding in a few 'horror' elements with the sampling.

  1. B.A.T.H.O.R.I.
  2. Bestial Desires
  3. Black Banners
  4. Undead Unsouls Abound
  5. Strychgnostic Madness

Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jun 26, 2011

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