(Necropolis Rec.)

Usurper is one more band who supports the revival movement of the extreme music of the 80's They show their aggressive intentions through teir second album (their third release along with an EP), which is released by Necropolis Rec, a record company that is very open and friendly to this kind of music. In Usurper's music there are no extremely high speeds, as in most of their colleagues' music. The speed is rather medium and the main role is given to the guitar riffs that are haunted by the 80's ghost and manage to create the desired "black" atmosphere, even without keuboards. There are several slow parts (the summit is "Embrace of the dead", which reminds me of the "Return of the Freezing winds" by the great Carpathian Forest), as well as some experimental elements, that are harmonized with the thrash of the '80s. Usurper are really good musicias and composers, and they manage to make each track different, however, they preserve their basic thrash/black cornerstone. In this way, they avoid resumptions, and they manage to saturate their creations with a pleasantly genuine 80's feeling. The vocals (vokills as they are referred) of Diabolical Slaughter (…) are very similar to those of Thomas Warrior. The production is the appropriate for this kind of music which means that it is rather gray. The cover is aesthetically ridiculous, but it fits the music. The thematology of the lyrics is not original, as it is very easily understood through titles such as "Dismal wings of eternity", "Cemetarians", "Wolflord", etc. Summarily, "Skeletal Season" may not claim originality, but it is a release, which is far better and more genuine than most of the others in this particular kind of music.

Melissa