Lost Soul
Chaostream
8.5
Who likes Polish death metal? Who likes bands with pentagrams incorporated into their logos? Thankfully this dynamite combination has yet to let the metal world down, and Lost Soul's latest effort is no exception to the rule. With numerous releases under their belt, they've existed for nearly 14 years, playing alongside numerous death metal leaders, and releasing albums on Osmose before attracting the attention of Wicked World. Vader, Yattering, Sceptic, Behemoth, Decapitated, Lost Soul, Trauma - I guess the real question is, what the hell is wrong (or right) with Poland?
Featuring riffing that remains as creative as it is intense, Lost Soul utilizes a variety of starts and stops without losing their unrelentingly brutal sound. They're a technical band who pay equal attention to songwriting as they do with innovating - incorporating quickly-strummed parts which death/black crossover acts like Zyklon have become known for. The solo work is incredibly skillful, straddling the fence on whether or not it's melodic or chaotic in intent - akin to Cryptopsy. The vocals, as somewhat expected, are a bit monotonous, but still deep and powerful. Lost Soul does have backing rasps that are appropriately used in order to break up some of the lull. Sharing similarities to Behemoth, "Godstate" begins with a unique and almost militaristic approach with it's staggering riffs and furious drumming. The introduction into "Christian Meat" is a great noise-laden section with sludgy guitars that make a perfect transition into a slow/mid-tempo stomp that could draw parallels with the 90's classic "Where the Slime Live". At six minutes long, it slightly overstays it's welcome, but the following track, "Angels Cry", relinquishes any complaints anyone may've had regarding the band's speed. The drumwork leaves me smiling and shaking my head in disbelief. If I were to gripe about anything, most likely it'd be the song lengths. The average fan of extreme death metal isn't going to have a single problem with it, but for the rest of us, it may seem a tad overwhelming at times.
Lost Soul haven't revolutionized the genre of Polish death metal by any means, but they've certainly done it an incredible favor and solidified it even further into the minds of metal fans everywhere. So although we may never know what's going on over there in Poland, at least we can appreciate the fine products of the environment which continually float ashore.
