Hailing from Miami Florida come "Inferion", formed in 1995 and bringing their new album "The Desolate". According to my information the line-up only lists "Thor" (Drums, Guitars & vox) and Ysgar (Bass) as the current fighters. What kind of incantation lies in wait for the listener?

The guitars on this release are mostly played in the fast tremolo-riffing usual in black metal, yet they sometimes take a way towards melodic leads (check "The Killing Process" for example). Not too much effects thrown in there either, the leads tend to lean towards the distorted basics. Worth mentioning especially are the background parts building a base bigger than the bass does (FYI this is a subjective statement). Vocal-wise the listener will find himself confronted with raspy voices which now and then have been doubled in the recording process; which adds quite some depth to the lyrical content. As I've noted before, the bass is there, nothing special most of the time but it does the job and fits the style. The drumming of "Thor" is usually in a faster pace and noteworthy for it's accuracy even in faster tempos which are featured in the compositions quite a lot. Referencing the material one can be unsure whether snare and bass drum have been triggered or not. Either way one has to think of some of Behemoth's drum parts now and then. Various Cymbals and the toms are brought into play a lot.

Collating the songs among each other is not too easy as there are portions which are common and some which simply follow their own way. Taking "Underlife" for example, it has a grim and aggressive undertone like most of the album while a song like the eight title called "Withering Deities" has an almost dark and depressing attitude to it. "Obliterated", the last track, delivers mysterious ambient and noise-oriented recordings put together for whole five minutes; taking a good position at the end of the album.

After listening to the Disc a lot of times, what can be summarized about this piece of black metal? The guitars changing from grim to driving riffs set the main course for this release, accompanied by the (sometimes very) fast drumming and the matching ugly (as in well produced fiendishness) voiceworks being well delivered. In luggage there are some interspersions from the past in form of thrashy, old-school oriented riffs. Not too much from modern times but not entirely relying on the roots of the genre either.

Tracklist:
01 – Among the Twilight (04:15)
02 - Forgotten Ethereal Visions (02:39)
03 - It Began with Blood (03:26)
04 - The Killing Process (04:42)
05 - Moment of Anger (04:20)
06 - Underlife (05:11)
07 - Purest Evil (04:44)
08 - Withering Deities (05:06)
09 - Numerous Lacerations (03:47)
10 - Obliterated (05:00)

Subjective impression:
Not knowing the band in the time before this review and at first seeing them among the ranks of the underground I wouldn't have expected such a clear production. Hell was my first impression wrong. I for one enjoyed the old-school influenced parts the most, especially those featured in "It Began with Blood". If you want to check Inferion out, I'd recommend the aforementioned "It Began with Blood" and "The Killing Process". "Underlife" is also a mentionable, darkish recording with a lot of "percussive trauma".

Availability:
Available

Known formats:
CD

06.10.11, M.V.