Deep Desolation - Subliminal Visions

I have been avoiding listening to this album for the last three months now and I can’t tell exactly why. Probably it was the cheap-looking cover and the slightly amateurish song titles like "Mass Murderer's Ejaculation" and "Christ's Incest" that were telling me that “Subliminal Visions” wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. The truth is, as soon as I pressed play and the first song “Call of the Abyss” started creeping out the speakers I immediately knew that my suspicions were right ‘cause it sounds exactly like a thousand of other projects plying a doomy and minimal black-metal trade. A style of music that I’m not completely fond of and Poland’s Deep Desolation don’t seem to master with some truly noteworthy results. The pace is for the most part slow and dragging, occasionally veering into a galloping tempo, the riffs are simple and harsh, occasionally revealing some melodic and entangling twists that manage to create some interesting moments, while the vocals are utterly grim and primitive, way more rasped than screamed. There isn't much else to say song-wise, as things don’t change a great lot between these eight tracks, and with a length that spans over 51 minutes “Subliminal Visions” is an extremely tiresome listen.

Let's not kid ourselves, I may not be the most qualified person to review this record, yet I seriously doubt that Deep Desolation will appeal to those who do not revel in this type of miserable, raw and dragging sound already. (4.8/10)

Alex Grimm

Band info: www.myspace.com/deepdesolationband

Label info: www.wydawnictwo-qev.pl

For fans of: Forgotten Tomb, Bethlehem, Nortt