Album Review: Eucharist – I Am The Void
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Within every subgenre of metal there are bands who are seen as the driving force and pioneers of the genre who create the defining albums and then there are bands who end up being the underdogs who released fantastic and influential albums which weren’t wholly appreciated at the time but whose work has gone on to be appreciated in the years to follow attaining the band a cult status. Within the Swedish melodic death metal movement Eucharist are one such cult band who released two brilliant albums in the 1990’s - the early melodic death metal classic A Velvet Creation in 1993 and the more contemporary sounding follow-up Mirrorworlds in 1997 but then disbanded and remained inactive for years. The band reformed in 2015 for some shows and the fire reignited to record new music so 25 years later Eucharist return with their third album I Am The Void.
Eucharist are now a two-piece with founding member Markus Johnsson performing vocals, guitars and bass and he is joined by Simon “BloodHammer” Schilling (Marduk, ex-Belphegor) on drums. Another difference with the returned Eucharist is that they are musically a bit different than their 1990’s melodic death metal output with the current band opting for a far more aggressive black metal influenced sound. There is still plenty of melody to be heard throughout the album but it is shrouded in a blackened cloak and is equally as violent, vicious and hateful as it is melodic.
Songs such as A Vast Land Of Eternal Night, Queen Of Hades and In The Heart Of Infinity mix blackened fury and melodic sensibility together to create epic and vicious pieces of melodic black metal whilst equally you get songs which contain plenty of early black metal style riffs such as Goddess Of Filth (Tlazolteotl) and Mistress Of Nightmares whilst vast epics such as In The Blaze Of The Blood Red Moon and the title track are far more atmospheric and desolate sounding.
I Am The Void is a hefty album with twelve songs covering a duration of nearly 77 minutes. It is a bit too long in all honesty and the album does hit a bit of a slump at points in its second half but when it is their first album in 25 years Eucharist can be forgiven for throwing everything they have at the listener. Fans of Swedish black metal bands such as Dark Funeral, Marduk and Naglfar will find plenty to enjoy about this album and the new direction that Eucharist have chosen to go in. It is an album that perfectly blends the melodic Swedish sound with black metal fury and a dark horrid atmosphere. Fans who were expecting a follow up to A Velvet Creation and Mirrorworlds may find this a bit disappointing but I Am The Void is a vastly enjoyable black metal record.
