Since 1988, Germany’s Desaster have been an unstoppable force in the black and thrash metal scene creating some of the finest material the band has done over the course of their existence being in a extreme metal band. I first got exposed to Desaster around 2012 after hearing their album The Arts of Destruction which in my opinion was a solid release through and through. But the last time this band put out music was back in 2016 titled The Oath of an Iron Ritual, which took everything from their emphasis on delivering the blackest, thrashing and almost death metal sounding tendencies and have ultimately kept their sound traditional and flowing which kept them afoot to be a much more matured band overtime. Fast forward to 2021, we have the newest offering from these Germans titled Churches Without Saints the band’s ninth full-length and is released through Metal Blade Records. Judging by the artwork, Desaster’s lyricism involves many themes including their compassion for Satanism, darkness, wars and hatred but also thrown in some different stylings in the lyrics such as anti-Christianity as many black metal bands in this era of music like to portray that context.
But given the time and day to finally listen to the new Desaster album, I was on the edge of my seat and give or take, this is a well polished album considered the fact these Germans have taken everything to such great heights as far as the craftsmanship, production, detail, instrumentations and progression is concerned this is a onslaught of non stop pure heaviness record that will continuously pummel the listener beginning to end. Desaster’s compositional work is extremely accessible, impressive and dynamic sounding as they’ve really reminded me a cross hybrid of Destroyer 666, Nifelheim, early Sodom, Gospel Of The Horns and Absu but for a band like Desaster is concerned, they’ve brought the goods and by goods I mean lots and lots of blackened thrash signatures that will satisfyingly pleasure any fans of the genre.
Just the moments you hear tracks such as Armed Architects of Annihilation (In Clarity for Total Death), Endless Awakening, Primordial Obscurity and Exile Is Imminent to what it appears to be one of the most authentic tracks on the album being Learn to Love the Void you’ll get to hear vicious vocals, fast drum fills, tons of soloing from the guitars, decent bass tuning and the production giving that one-to punch delivery to that these cornerstones Desaster created is very remarkable and I hope for future material they keep establishing themselves to be a household name in the blackened thrash metal scene because they truly are, a work of art. While I feel their last album was decent at best, Churches Without Saints is perhaps the most assaulted and periodical albums Desaster has ever written both lyrically, musically and sonically.
Overall Score: 9.0/10
Review by Jake Butler
