It’s been six years since Brazilian death dealers Escarnium released their last LP, 2016’s Interitus but the band is back in action with their new EP, Through the Depths of the 12th Gate. Featuring one new original—the EP’s title track—and a cover of Amorphis’ “Pilgrimage from the Darkness,” it’s solid proof that the South American death metal outfit are not only alive, but thriving.
“Through the Depths of the 12th Gate” maintains a doom-and-gloom mood as it pivots from ominous and discordant to frantic and aggressive. When they hit the guitar solo around the 2:45 mark, it sounds like the band are about to spin out of control. Escarnium maintain the same level of quality on “Pilgrimage from the Darkness,” tearing into the cover with the required ferocity for such a song.
“The riffs for this song were written by me between 2016 and 2017 and Nestor Carrera (Escarnium, Rotborn) worked his magic on the drums from Brazil,” explains guitarist and vocalist Victor Elian. “Since we were not able to release any material in 2020 as mentioned above, we figured it would be nice to release a single (or a EP in this case) to ‘break the ice’ and re-introduce ourselves to the world. I actually like this song very much. It shows a slightly different face of Escarnium, with a denser atmosphere and more cadenced tempo. I think it illustrates an evolution and maturity of the band. Its lyrics have a very personal meaning to me and refers to depression and some other personal subjects, as well as the current world state of pandemic chaos. It was the first song I wrote after a deep and long period of depression, so it is very sincere and has a really heavy meaning to me.”
The pilgrimage will be complete and the EP available for purchase on January 21 via Redefining Darkness, but Decibel has an exclusive stream of the new Escarnium below.
