British Death-Doom outfit CONSECRATION give fans a tasty wee snack between major releases with Reanimated. No filler here, as they give us a tantalising glimpse at what is to come with their next major release. Featuring reworked versions of tracks from distant demos, we get all the raw energy of a band in their early days, yet having had the benefit of experience and refinement. "Cast Down For The Burning MMXXI" stomps along like a walking corpse, vomiting forth the kind of unholy filth one could reasonably expect from a good, solid Death-Doom record. It is at once both raw but polished.

"Gut The Priest" stomps and plods its way into sight, unrelenting in its brute force. Truly the metal soundtrack to a horde of zombies lumbering inevitably forwards to their next victim. Daniel's vocals are a real delight to listen to: wet and throaty, just as it should be on filth like this! The pace quickens for a little while before - I'm not sure 'fading out' is quite the right term, perhaps 'staggering out'? the mental image of staggering zombies is irresistible!

The final track, "Domain Of Despair" opens with deeply unsettling clean guitar notes - kinda sounds like it could be a soundtrack to a George Romero zombie flick! The ball gets rolling after just over a minute, bass guitar clearly underlying the proceedings with hefty thump and rumble. The song title is well-picked, for the mood conveyed is certainly one of despair. There's a deeply discordant feel to this song, and the Doom element is especially prominent. By itself it's actually a pretty decent Doom metal track, the section around the five-minute mark good enough to sound at home alongside PARADISE LOST. Things do start to get a bit muddled and mixed up towards the end, it not being clear that they're all in sync with one-another.

Overall though this is a delicious little taster of what more is to come from these guys. Recently furnished with a new guitarist there's lots of exciting promise for a Death-Doom outfit with plenty of pomp! The Death-Doom thing seems, at glance, a stale relic, but those more in the know are fully aware that the tradition lives on in more contemporary groups such as HOODED MENACE among others. It ain't dead yet! It lumbers on, rotting and drawing inexorably towards its next live meal!