One of the staples of Death or Black Metal is that they typically end up being so fast that many strangers to the genre are put off, or find it inaccessible. In the case of FROM THE VASTLAND, their new album somehow manages to be easily identifiable as Black Metal but still sound within the speed limit, and this is an interesting thing to hear.

This is largely down to the drumming, which oftentimes is slow and steady as a heartbeat while the guitar charges off into the distance, and other times is impressively quick alongside some slow, controlled guitar work. This seesaw motion between the two instruments keeps the music anchored and straight, and prevents it from becoming hilariously jumbled and messy.

That said, the bass guitar is barely audible underneath the powerful sounds of the rest of the band, coming through as little more than a background rumble through most of the album. The vocals are sinister and demonic, as you would expect from a defined Metal album such as this, but also sparse enough to allow the music to breathe. They work well alongside the guitars in "Alborz Rising" in particular, as they both mimic each other in pitch and style. This ss impressive in itself, as throughout the album the rhythm guitar stubbornly works its way up and down the higher notes without even glancing at the lower sounds, meaning that the death vocals must occasionally do the same.

The downside to this is that many of the songs sound like they have a very similar guitar riff, that simply gets higher and lower in pitch but still remains in the same bracket of notes. This is only the case in a handful of songs, but is especially repetitive and obvious in the last couple of tracks as we become so used to hearing it. For this reason it's probably a good thing that the album is only eight tracks long, as any more would have just become irritating.

I exclude "Davalpa" from this problem however, as it is easily the best track of the album. It experiments with a softer guitar sound that is reminiscent of "Fade To Black" by METALLICA, but still retains the hard edge through the death vocals and the thundering drums. The moment of silence in between the music also do a lot for the song, and as it reaches the halfway mark it picks up more steam as the riff improves and the drums lose their temper. The mood is slightly ruined by the odd transition at the end, however.

This is an album that is definitely worth a look for fans of the genre, and may even win over some new ones by virtue of how it just sounds that bit different to its relatives. With (mostly) good production and the ability of not outstaying its welcome, "Temple Of Daevas" may just surprise many Metal fans who would normally judge an album on its cover.