Convulse
World Without God

In 1991, another substantial band made its recording debut in the Finnish death metal scene: Convulse. Hailing from the city of Nokia (yes, like the cell phones), these four guys carried on the direction that Abhorrence had left off after their promising self-titled EP, namely, the creation of the truly raw, characteristic Finnish sound.

One should not be misled by the melodic keyboard introduction, simply named "Intro," which opens the album, because the initial riff of the title track "World Without God" will soon clarify what Convulse means by death metal: sinister, distorted, and hypnotic melodies that chase each other amidst constant sonic attacks and slowdowns on the brink of doom. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Finnish death metal with a DOC seal, the rawest that the land of a thousand lakes has ever produced. Frontman Rami Jämsä (lead guitar and vocals) showcases an incredibly deep growl, at least for the time, further contributing to creating a dense and suffocating atmosphere where there is room only for darkness and gloom, as excellently depicted by the dark cover, which at times is too chaotic, also due to the production. It is, therefore, this excessive chaos that, in my opinion, prevents the album from being a masterpiece like "Slumber of Sullen Eyes" by Demigod, which was released the following year. Nonetheless, the work is unquestionably among the lost gems that this genre gave us in the early nineties.

The story of Convulse would continue, even if briefly, just like that of all the bands of this national trend, except for Amorphis and Sentenced. After their second album ("Reflections"), in which they tried to evolve their style with more rock influences but without achieving great success, also due to a production unsuited to their proposal, they disbanded.

However, they could not resist the temptation for a reunion in 2012. Watching people who were still in diapers when you were already playing, raved about by critics and audiences alike for composing songs with the usual recycled riffs is not good for one's mood. One thing is certain: the inspiration of those years is lost forever, even for Convulse.