DEATHEVOKATION was, unfortunately, one of those great bands with massive potential that simply eventually fell between the spider web cracks in the factory floor of the timeless steel mill, which is Heavy Metal. Their one album, "The Chalice of Ages" was originally released in 2007 and has been re-pressed by their record label; a chance to be thrown back into the underground limelight for cult fans to feast on. The Death Metal found on this record is by no means generic and does not solely rely on sped-up instrumentation to demonstrate a hellish soundscape.

"Rites of Desecration" is an example of how evil-sounding, Death Metal can get, incorporating perfect amounts of Black and Doom Metal. The production is clear, yet brutal, with all of the instruments cutting through in full force. The vocals are a true talking (growling?) point on this album; unedited, organic and powerful with a deep-seated, emotive fuel. This album is already feeling like a throwback to iconic, underground Finnish legends DEMILICH. "The Monument" is a megaton monument of a track, this time much more thrashy for the most part, with crushing and aggressive riffages that hails the likes of SLAYER. One of my favorite things about this track were the sudden transitions to slow, Sludgy Doom-like passages, which were periodically dragged out of the slime by chaotic guitar solos.

The title track begins as the slowest track on the album, showcasing impressive lead guitar work with soulful, melodic whines that invoke a deathly-grey world. Powerful Death growls beckon a picking-up in tempo which is announced in pulsing drum rolls and the track takes on an all-new heaviness, artillery-fired by spontaneous runs of lightning blast-beats. "Carrion" stood out as my favorite on the record, which ventured even into the realms of melodic death metal, while still smashing out DEATHVOKATION's special blend of brutality. Beginning with a chilling acoustic passage, many moments in this track's riffage takes me back to the old days of 90's ARCH ENEMY, with aggressive and thrash-like riffage, fleshed out by harmonized lead licks.

I used the word unfortunately earlier, because I felt like I would have been a fan of this band's hypothetical future records, because this one was a true gem that didn't see enough of the light of day (or fires of hell).