Review: “Elysian Inferno” by Berator

“The BERATOR EP was tracked live, just me and Dan (drums) in his studio, and we built around those live tracks for the record, which in itself, gives it a level of raw power you can’t get from a click. Tim Pearson (bass, ex-The Chasm) and Pat Clancy (guitar, ex-Nachtmystium) then added their parts. The sound is entrancing, excruciating and insane, for people who appreciate forward, to the point, nonstop riffs. It’s a seamless record meant to be heard as 20 some-odd straight minutes of rhythm and violence” ~ Guitarist and vocalist Rich Olsen

Purveyors of relentless Blackened Death Metal  violence, Chicago Illinois Betrator made a serious impact four years ago with their debut demo. Since then guitarist and vocalist Richard Olsen has left behind his Profanatica duties to focus on the project and in doing so has landed a spot at Decibel Magazine’s Metal and Beer Festival in Philadelphia. He’s joined by Daniel Kuzay (Guitar, Backup Vocals), Mikey De La Mora (Bass, Backup Vocals) and Dave Cieck (Drums) for what promises to be a brutal onslaught.

There is no question that order to be able to track their parts live, Olsen and Cieck must have rehearsed until their hands were calloused and bloody because the live energy has been captured like lighting in a bottle with a furious frenetic pace set from the start of the rampaging “Sultans of Incest“. The blood curdlingly roars of Olsen will make lesser mortals shudder as he spits blood and fire while Cieck goes hell for leather with his thunderous Black Metal fills as an animal on behind the kit in the truest sense of the word. The face melting solo of “Onslaught to Absolution” is a Speed Metal inspired piece of razor sharpness that sounds like it is from the fretboard of Slayer’s Kerry King, before the tribal patterns at the start of  “Dead Rats” offer “Beneath The Remains” era Sepultura qualities and sound like Igor Cavalera is making an appearance. That’s a testament to just how good the performances are on this bone shattering affair as the old school approach pays dividends. That then cuts into conjoined twin “War Lust” that continues the narrative with more lead work heightening the senses and leaving in its wake the kind of sonic bloodbath that requires legions of nurses of clean up. The restless and relentless fretboard smoking hot riffs aren’t without a few that sound very close to each other, something which other bands might have steered away from but here merely adds to the cohesive nature of the best, giving it something of an air of instant familiarity that makes is immediately listenable. The final blast of the hellscape that is “Swine Cult” leaves your skull rattled and your brain fried in the best possible way and you can’t help but wonder if the band escaped the dank dark basement torture chamber in which they created this sonic abomination… [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Sultans of Incest
2. Onslaught to Absolution
3. Dead Rats
4. War Lust
5. Final Crucifixion
6. Swine Cult

“Elysian Inferno” by Berator is out 10th June 2022 via Dark Descent Records and will be available over at bandcamp.