We are closing in on six months of metal releases for 2022 but I still feel it is way too late to call AOTY for any release. However, it isn't too late to start speculating what albums in this years first half are among the best...and which albums from that list will still be around at year's end. EVOCATOR's "Ancient Cataclysm," is an album that is firmly among the first half the year's best albums or, at the very least, best doom albums. The album contains four tracks and a run time of 46 minutes, making it a long but certainly not overly long album. As such, it is optimal for repeated play throughs. The fact "Ancient Cataclysm," is their full length debut is even more impressive. Of course, since their formation in 2007, this Swedish death/doom band has released five demos (that I would love to hear) and an EP.-they aren't exactly a new band, obviously. But to have a full length debut this good is still an achievement. Variety and atmosphere are the two elements that make the album so impressive to me. Although certainly rooted in death/extreme doom, that isn't all the band has to offer. Across these four long tracks, black metal and even melo-death make appearances. With that being said, the atmosphere is always hellish and evil-not to mention absolute aggression. In fact, no matter what the band does to enhance or mold their doom, this album is always offering up waves and waves of destruction. The lyrics are based on ancient history, such as the Bronze Age, Hittite Empire, and themes of both Greek and Egyptian mythology.

"Ruination of Alashyia" begins with distorted static that morph into black metal riffs. The sulfuric atmosphere is the perfect breeding ground for the marriage between death growls and blackened shrieks. Dismal lead guitar laces the track with melody of a darker sort,  letting in just enough light to expose the darkness that lurks in  surroundings. The later half of the song speeds up the tempo, the drums hammering away. I wish they were in the mix better but they serve their important purpose of being a foundation and driving force to the rest of the song. At this point, the guitars are a massive wall of sound, electric doom tangled together like taut webbing.

"Tremors Of Poseidon," begins with clean, melodic guitar and spoken word. As the song begins to sprawl out, the clean and distorted music mix together before cutting back to cleans-complete with death growls layering on top. The middle portion is chaotic-the groovy and even a little dissonant, changing the atmosphere from dark and heavy to uncertain and dangerous. In the later half, clean vocals also make an appearance and they certainly provide an ancient and epic twist. The third track, "Ode To Osiris," is has more of an immediate impact than the previous two. Before the one minute mark is even reached, a fever pitch of screams and doom riffs washes over the atmosphere. The middle portion of the song is hypnotic, the way the clean tones meld with the blackened doom riffs. Just after the eight minute mark, the atmosphere becomes very engaging, a carry over from the clean tones earlier but presented in a different way.

The final track, "Bane Of Hattusa," is the most sonically disturbing of the four. The death growls are ferociously deep, drawing you into the abyss. The blackened screams are harrowing as the riffs behind them. The guitars move in a snake life way, some dark entity advancing ever closer. The last five minutes of the song are my favorite-the sound is a combination of bleak and searing. EVOCATOR knocked this album out of the park with a well put together album that was clearly planned and thought out by a lover of the style.