Polterchrist- Engulfed By The Swarm - Season of Mist: 2004 Reviewed by Axeman
Track Listing
01. Alone 02. The Sun Will Burn Black 03. Terminal 04. Lies... Pain... Hate 05. The Art Of Ferocity 06. Here We Lie 07. Engulfed By The Swarm 08. Desolate Paradise 09. The Battle
With so many extreme metal bands out there these days it is becoming commonplace for groups to meld an array of styles together to keep us listeners guessing. Philadelphia's POLTERCHRIST ride the blackened/death fence, but throw so many twists and turns in there that it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire disc. From power ballad intros to skull bashing ferocity, moments of clarity, doom and even catchy, melodic thrash...you soon realize this band leaves no stone unturned on this neck snapping release. "Engulfed By The Swarm" is not your show-stopping, mind numbing, technical metal that drops your jaw to the floor, yet I found myself enjoying this quite a bit none-the-less. It's not an easy feat to blend so many styles, vocals and tempo-shifts together and keep it listenable. The consensus of the nay-sayers is that this band has no concrete direction in their music. That is the exact quality that helps POLTERCHRIST stick out in a pack of groups that play with the same-sounding redundancy of the next guy. Pick up POLTERCHRIST and start thinking outside the box.
Bottom Line: Fasten your seat-belts...you're in for a wild ride!!!