Evangelist – Ad Mortem Festinamus EP
Evangelist – Ad Mortem Festinamus EP
Nine Records
Release Date: 18/12/2020
Running Time: 36:16
Review by Chris Galea
8/10
It’s not often I review a mini-album…for me to do so it’s got to have something interesting to put on the table. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t describe Evangelist as ground-breaking but “Ad Mortem Festinamus” possesses an honesty that makes it appealing and easy to hook on to.
This music style can safely be described as Epic Doom Metal…a sort of mix between Manilla Road, Forsaken (from Malta), Cirith Ungol and Candlemass. In this EP, Evangelist tackle themes that are characteristic to this kind of music, such as a knight of King Arthur’s round table (‘Perceval’) and the concept of afterlife within the mythology of Ancient Egypt (‘Anubis’).
One of the strong points of “Ad Mortem Festinamus” (“We embrace death” in Latin) is the quality of its songwriting, which is very intuitive. On top of that, the guitar solos are just great…in fact the sound of some guitar sweeps reminded me of Cacophony (the 1980’s band).
Not-very-surprisingly, the EP concludes with a cover of ‘Mystification’, the title-track of Manilla Road’s classic 1987 album. Happily, Evangelist breathe new life into the song while remaining faithful to its original spirit.
Oddly, the identities of Evangelist’s members are unclear but there seems to be a connection with the Polish Doom band Monasterium. Evangelist has already released three albums prior to this EP but I don’t suppose the band has played live very much in view of the aforementioned ambiguity. In any case the music sounds great, that much I can say for sure.
So, especially if you enjoy immersing yourself into traditional Metal sonorities, make sure you grab a copy of “Ad Mortem Festinamus”.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Perceval
02. Anubis (On The Onyx Throne Of Death)
03. The Puritan
04. Pale Lady Of Mercy
05. Towards The End
06. Mystification (Manilla Road Cover)
LINE-UP:
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