Not come across Italian death metal band Ekpyrosis before (translates as something like ‘born from fire’ I believe) so an EP seems a good place to start.

Opening track ‘Abyssal Convergence’ creeps in on slow, dark riffs, a little of the funeral doom of early Unholy perhaps. The production seems passable and the vocals low and rattling. It also slips smoothly through the gears until, almost seamlessly hits full on death metal speed. It’s a classy transition, and shows that band have a good grasp on the dynamics needed. Follow up ‘Instigation Of Entropy’ is more up tempo and sets out the style for most of what follows.

It’s committed, and tightly played; the riffs and the chord progressions come thick and fast but for me there’s something a little thin in the atmosphere somehow. The quiet, mostly acoustic interlude of ‘Chaos Condensing’ with it’ cosmic vibes and otherworldly keyboard sounds bordering on Hawkwind territory is the most scene setting piece here, but sadly it is more a lead out of the EP proper rather than a step into a darker place. There is an Incantation cover afterwards of ‘Devoured Death’ which actually at least helps me crystallise the idea that Incantation fans might actually find a fair bit to like here, even if the groove and rhythmic feel is more subdued on their own tracks.

Not a bad EP by any means, just a bit… well a bit ‘simply ok’ for me rather than a shopwcase. Dip in if drilled down into the relentless riff style of death metal is your thing, but more variation would have been a bit better for me. Sorry.

(5.5/10 Gizmo) 

https://www.facebook.com/ekpyrosisband

https://ekpyrosis.bandcamp.com/album/primordial-chaos-restored