Invictus Productions - 2021
9/10
Austria's Transilvania has made a bit of a career out of crafting a more unique form of blackened thrash metal, though I may argue that the reason why it's unique is that they deviate pretty far from that tag. While we can certainly discuss traces of it, the more straightforward formula in the outfit's earlier years came to transcend the norm in more ways than just dealing in medieval imagery in place of Satanic debauchery. No, I'm of the belief that Of Sleep And Death deals cards in the vein of its name, falling closer to the blackened death metal realm above all else. This is also probably what really helped sell me on them.
For starters, Transilvania have always somewhat shied away from melody save for a hint of it here and there, favoring rhythms rooted in explosive expression and a furious drive that matches the relentless, blackened vocals. Perhaps one could say the execution feels on the cleaner side, but a rough gradient still manages to dull the blade of our proverbial chops, allowing much of this to sink deeper into full-on black metal territory from time to time. What impresses me more than anything may be the band's ability to quickly shift from a slower, more intricate lick into blasting percussion and tremolos that crawl all over the fret-board. But remember kids, utilizing catchy playing tactics in extreme metal doesn't automatically make it feel thrashy.
What does make it feel thrashy is that punk-oriented attitude that catches the occasional speed metal riff, which you can find from time to time as well. The bridge and following solo on the title track is a fine example of this, though as clear as it is, things get equally muddy surrounding it, complimented by explosive drumming and breakneck tremolos. Bits like this also exist in some of the shorter numbers, namely the end of "Mortpetten," but even much of this resides closer to the impression landed on opener "Opus Morbi"; longer, elaborate numbers where crushing shrieks meet a tough black/death aesthetic. "Heart Harvest" may be my favorite example due to its early Bathory nods, and the cleaner sweeps in "Vault Of Evening" really scratch a nice itch. When a nearly fifty minute record of this type sports zero misses, you know you're in good hands.
Regardless of what you want to call it, what matters is that Of Sleep And Death is an extremely competent, compact slammer of a record that immerses you in a crushing medieval front. The band offers a little bit of all our favorite extreme genres, some more than others. Instinct would tell one to compare it to Hellripper, Witchery or Bastardizer, but I'd sooner compare this to Craven Idol, Proscription, or Necrophobic. If anything of that sort sounds appealing, give these Austrian's your attention.
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