Benediction
Dark Is The Season

This EP was simply enough to make a grand appearance (beautiful and evocative cover) on a shelf in a well-known, ehm, let's say "underground" record store (oops, I think I've said too much, for those in the know...), for me to literally wear out the grooves of the vinyl, plus a bit of cartilage from my cervical spine.

Fifteen years have passed since then, and you can tell, because if back then the dear, old, mighty Benediction, a band from Birmingham known beyond its bright career for having brought the good "Barney" Greenway to the forefront, eventually leaving them (amiably, I'd say) shortly after the release of their first album "Subconscious Terror", could be considered a leading death metal band in the extreme scene, now that scene has advanced so much in sonic violence, that the feeling you get when listening to this delightful "Dark is the Season" is akin to something resembling a form of sabbathian heavy metal boosted by very simple proto-death raids, never excessively fast but truly rich in groovy melodies.

It is certainly true that giving a positive rating to an EP composed of 5 tracks, only 3 of which are unreleased, since the concluding "Jumping at Shadows" and "Experimental Stage" (in any case, two excellent songs but inferior from a production standpoint) are nothing more than two perfectly identical versions to the originals found respectively on "The Grand Leveller" and their aforementioned debut, is not a simple task.

But... but the "new" tracks sounded and still sound great, pathos and power, great atmosphere, and the right dose of mournful melody that enhances the very canonical death metal that they have always known how to put together. The opener "Foetus Noose" (the central tempo change mid-tempo is very strange but very effective) is a clear example, as is the third and most doom-oriented title track, showing great drive and remarkable static power (and I also add that it's always a pleasure, in this metal era dominated by bombastic and overly elaborate recordings, to hear amps completely saturated with a healthy "natural" distortion), not to mention the very emotional and intimate acoustic finale. In conclusion, I allowed myself to leave you with the gem, which is the cover our guys propose of the classic (and it's indeed the case to say) metal "Forged in Fire" by the ossianic and mythological Anvil, with none other than the runaway Greenway on vocals, damnedly ravaged compared to the original, for a joyous reunion with anvil and hammer blows. Devastating.

Maybe it won't be the top of the genre or the top achieved by Benediction or whatever else you might want to criticize, but "Dark is the Season", in my opinion, remains a delightful album, that perhaps on some gloomy November afternoon, will accompany you in a slowed down but relaxing headbanging.