Review: “Deimos Falling” by Orbstruct

When the laws of gravity are in force, what goes up must come down and so fittingly after previous album “Phobos Rising” from Ukrainian Death Metal quartet Orbstruct comes “Deimos Falling”. Both are references to Greek mythology; Phobos, the personification of fear and panic, was the son of Ares and Aphrodite, and the twin brother of Deimos, the personal god of dread and terror. Ideologically the theme is continuation of the first record which tells about new stage of personality development as seen by the band members, this time around is said to be a more personal fight against external factors and poisonous influence to fight against inner doubts and horrors caused by inflamed mind and fears imposed by social rules and doctrinal beliefs. Known for combining powerful guitar riffs and high-speed blast beats with subjects of atheism, agnosticism, self-knowledge and self-development, the band was actually formed as far back as 2016 with the musicians at is blackened heart spotted at different times as live and in-studio members of mainly Black Metal formations…

…it’s not all that uncommon for musicians known for Black Metal offerings to create in the World of Death Metal and after the science fiction soundscape of “Soar between Horror and War“, Orbstruct begin to roll the dice from the twisted hand of fate with more than a hint of influence from bands like Deicide, Obituary and Morbid Angel with the crushing opener “House of Pain“. The band have chosen a sound and style that harks back to the golden era of the genre between 1985 and 1995, blending menacing riffs with a darker, more atmospheric feel than “Phobos Rising” had to it. Both “H.M.F.H.T.F.” and the album title track “Deimos Falling” have had an injection of swagger into them, the solo of the later being a moment of real class helped by the choice of mix and decision to go with a cleaner, crisper tone in with the guitar work that means you can hear all the intricacies of the rhythms of destruction that are offered up on a silver platter. By the time “Under the Rays of Gory Sun” the Ukrainian outfit have hit their stride, bringing in speech samples to enhance the darkness as drummer Fok Lok brings some almost tribal drum patterns that throw back to “Arise” era Sepultura and it has to be said that his kit work is on point throughout, he doesn’t miss a beat even if the snare does sound a little flat. Purists may argue long into the night about the dearth of solos on this record; there are some, most notably on “Outcast” which closes with a classic but the band have chosen instead to pound us to death with rhythmic battery and crushing chugging riffs galore and that works just fine as a style choice. There are leads and plenty of syncopation between the twin axe attack of Goreon and Redied which combined with moments like the bass drive mid section of “Mercury Turn” that busts into blast beats gives the album a real finesse and here’s the odd thing about the record; the final three tracks are the finest upon it. “Reaper’s Path” is an absolute tour de force of Death Metal with some perfectly executed tempo shifts and staccato riffage galore before the bends between the staccato riffs of “Age of Hypocrisy” bring it home as Goreon reaches hitherto unheard guttural lows. It’s not that there is anything wrong with those early cuts by any stretch but the album is one that actually sounds progressively better as it plays out, as if the best songs have been kept until last… [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Soar between Horror and War
2. House of Pain
3. H.M.F.H.T.F.
4. Deimos Falling
5. Under the Rays of Gory Sun
6. Artificial Breath
7. Outcast
8. Mercury Turn
9. Reaper’s Path
10. Age of Hypocrisy

“Deimos Falling” by Orbstruct is out 22nd October 2021 via Envenomed Music / Paragon Records