Eucharist "Mirrorworlds" CD
[Regain]
Fuck yes, I'm so glad this underrated masterpiece of melodic Swedish death metal mastery has finally been re-released, because I was never able to track it down before. Those familiar with this style (And who isn't these days?) know what to expect here, but Eucharist is ever so different from the norm because their melodies aren't always so straightforward or typical. They use a lot of interesting chords and note choices and create a much more intense and memorable record as a result. Shit, this CD is worth the price for the opening track, "Mirrorworld", alone - the song is fucking stellar. And for diversity just check out some of the catchier, rocked out riffing in the 6+ minute instrumental "With the Sun". The other instrumental, "In Nakedness", runs just over five minutes of lush clean guitars, saxophone, and some crackling vinyl types of sounds... but it's fucking terrible, not to mention boring. I have no clue what the hell they were going for, but it ruins the continuity of the CD and is a complete waste of time. They should have made it the last song at the very least so that skipping it would be easier. It's really an unforgivable mistake and a huge blemish on an otherwise superb record. I don't have any significant problems with the recording. It's hard to hear the bass and things can get a little raucous at times as far as layering getting a little crazy and hard to make out some of the details... maybe it could use a more dominant sense of low-end warmth. But it sounds pretty damn good, for the most part I do like the production. I'm not sure if the layout is the same as the original pressing or not, but it's very basic and clean, which is nice. The cover shows a logo type of emblem, all of the pages are a dark greenish color with some dirty textures mixed in, and each panel of the booklet is devoted to one song's lyrics in tiny type, with some recording information on the back. The lyrics aren't necessarily anything different, but the approach is slightly aside from the norm, and I enjoy that: "My scarlet visions. Like reflections of my subconscious. Beyond the starlit heaven the horizon burns with flames so red. As my eyes bear witness to this euphoria, this apocalypse..." The first four tracks on this CD as an EP would've made for an easy 8/10, maybe even a 9/10. But the other three core tracks are less forceful, and the final instrumental is total shit, so that holds back the overall momentum. However, that being said, I totally recommend this record. Like I said, it's worth it for the opening track alone... amazing. (7/10)
Running time - 37:21, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Mirrorworld, Dissolving, The Eucharist, With the Sun]
Regain Records - http://www.regainrecords.com

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