Miasmal Sabbath’s full-length debut has been a long time coming, as the Greek death metal band has been honing their craft since a self-titled EP in 2016. Where that EP was a more straightforward take on raging death metal and D-beat, follow-up EP Ascension of the Foulest a year later showcased a significant shift with a greater emphasis on atmosphere and tonality that took just as much from black metal as death metal. It feels appropriate then that nearly three years later Miasmal Sabbath has expanded even further outwards with Ominous Radiance, channeling equal amounts of death metal, punk, and black metal into a cocktail that’s as atmospheric as it is bludgeoning. At close to an hour in length there’s a lot to take in throughout each of the eight tracks, but the material remains engaging from beginning to end and showcases a band at the height of their powers.
While their stylistic influences and tonality may be fairly different, the transformation Miasmal Sabbath has gone through reminds me quite a bit of Chapel of Disease. Both bands started off with a very specific old-school sound in mind and found themselves disinterested in sticking within the narrow frameworks of that genre after a few releases. In Miasmal Sabbath’s case, their roots were within classic death metal and d-beat/punk, bringing to mind death metal’s earliest days, but right from the start of Ominous Radiance it’s clear that you’re in for something entirely different. The nearly four-minute opener “Invocation of Death Essence” is a slow burn that uses haunting melodic leads and a methodical pace to create a thick and otherworldly atmosphere, building up in a similar way to some of the darker doom and sludge bands. From there “Celestial Prodigy” takes this softer yet foreboding tonality and whips it up into a frenzy of raging D-beat driven death metal that rumbles with Earth shattering force. It’s not quite as outwardly progressive as bands like Morbus Chron, but the longer track lengths allow Miasmal Sabbath to take a more dynamic songwriting approach and move seamlessly between slower atmospheric passages and much harsher blasts. As you get further into Ominous Radiance the merging of metal genres expands further, with “A Ghostly Aura Bathed in Stellar Luminance” having the type of icy and jagged guitar leads that one would associate with Norwegian and Swedish black metal. In lesser hands this might prove to be too much and lead to the material coming across like a bunch of disjointed riffs and leaps into other genres, but these guys make it work and there’s a consistent flow and narrative to each song that keeps you engaged. Like other death and black metal of this type, the density and less straightforward nature of the writing will require a bit more focused listening and time, but there are hooks to urge you to dive deeper and I can’t think of too many other hour-long albums in recent memory that have kept my attention for almost their entire run.
The first taste of vocals you get on Ominous Radiance comes two and a half minutes into “Celestial Prodigy”, bringing extremely low-pitched growls that are drenched in so much distortion that they have an almost inhuman tone. This is where Miasmal Sabbath remains rooted in death metal, as their vocalist hits guttural ranges that are on-par with some of the classic genre vocalists and they absolutely tower above the recording during some of the highest peaks. On “Chaos Magnvm” there’s a noticeable shift towards higher shrieks that seem like they’re reaching into the depths and channeling forces unknown, reaching spine-chilling levels that recall the likes of Venomous Skeleton and Auroch. While the screams and growls don’t quite have the same dynamic feeling as the instrumentals, they still shake things up often enough to avoid feeling one-dimensional and come through with enormous amounts of power.
D-beat and punk leaning death metal often take a more straightforward and bludgeoning approach, but Miasmal Sabbath has taken these elements and woven them into lengthy and dynamic songs that incorporate just as much haunting and tense atmosphere. It’s a strong showing from a band that clearly wants to be more than just an old-school revivalist or be pigeonholed into one specific type of death metal, and while you’re going to need some in-depth quality time with this album to get a feel for all the details the investment is worth it. Having hinted at this direction on Ascension of the Foulest, Miasmal Sabbath has taken things to the next level and have delivered on their potential. Ominous Radiance is available from Unholy Prophecies.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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