First of all, this is one of the best album covers I have seen in a long time. Take note that CONVULSE is a Death Metal band, and Death Metal covers usually feature some creature being torn apart by other creatures, so this really is a breath of fresh air for me - some real art for art's sake, not to propagate some image of gore and violence-obsession. Of course I love the typical CANNIBAL CORSE-type covers; I'm just saying this is a breath of fresh air, and freshness seems to be the overall goal CONVULSE wants to reach for with their first album in 19 years, "Evil Prevails".

CONVULSE was a Finnish Death Metal band formed in 1988 with a short-lived career. They released two full-length albums before ending their journey around 1994 - a real loss for the Death Metal scene in Finland as they were considered one of the pioneers of what some fans call the "Nokia" scene.

And just like a Nokia, CONVULSE demonstrates that old is gold. It really is fortunate times that we live in, getting to see so many defunct, old Death Metal bands get together again after years of being apart or not releasing any material. First of all, what happens is that these old bands, having split or called it quits during the early-to-mid nineties or so, still maintained throughout those years their old school sound. They didn't go through the motions of having their brains wiped clean by big record companies, and now that they're back, they still carry that old school spirit with them and churn out some of the most honest, straightforward, rocking Death Metal albums.

In many ways, CONVULSE marks themselves as special immediately in my eyes because of how much they are able to skillfully take the best things about each Metal or Rock subgenre and bring it onto a Death Metal platform. From the Thrash side, they mirror the riffing styles of DESTRUCTION and some of the other Teutonic bands, combining that with some truly eerie and sinister melodies a la SLAYER. From the Doom Metal side, they bring in the most chuggish and heavy breakdowns right after the DESTRUCTION riffing and to cap it all off, throw in some bluesy leads. Also, there are some obvious Technical Deathcore influences going on here - all of which makes for some serious musical dynamics going on, as each style contributes some significant musical exponent that carries the album onto the threshold of genius.

This album is caked with such musical surprises from start to finish, making it an honestly fun Death Metal record to listen to. "Unholy War" is one the standouts with its insane capturing of every influence on CONVULSE's. Do not put acoustic intros or outros past CONVULSE either - these guys can cook up anything and make it Death Metal enough to smack your face senseless with. For instance, "God is Delusion" starts off with a melancholic acoustic opener and quickly turns into a vicious War Metal assault. Speaking of vicious, Rami Jämsä's vocals are perfect for CONVULSE's brand of Death Metal, with brutal barks and growls full of depth.

To put it simply, this is one hell of an album, and I cannot be happier that CONVULSE is back and fully charged to helm the Finnish, or Nokia, scene again. They show, in a very skilled and masterful way, that Death Metal can be old school but still be open to take influences from other genres and make for music that is truly refreshing, pleasantly surprising, and just good fun to listen to. "Evil Prevails" definitely makes it into my top ten albums of the year.