Giving a potent sizeable teaser of their impending second album Monument, Norwegian death metallers Among Gods have just released Malstrøm , the first single from the new full-length. It is a great groaning slab of captivating metal which sparks intrigue and imagination for the upcoming PRC Music released album. It is admittedly not an explosive encounter, not a force to bring knees to the floor and senses to heel, but with a stalking predation and inventive sonic weave the song certainly leaves an appetite for the bigger narrative to come.
Hailing from Bergen, the band started as a solo side-project for vocalist Ripper (Syrach) in 2010. The following year saw Among Gods expand to a quintet with the addition of guitarists Broke (ex-Arvas, Vithr) and Andrea Costanzo (Syrach) on guitars, bassist Remi Skråmestø (ex-Arvas), and drummer Ivan Rolstad (Vinterbris, Neoplasma). Working on and recorded their self-titled debut album across the rest of the year its well-received unleashing was followed with a vinyl release in late 2012. Reducing to the threesome of Ripper, Broke, and Ivan thereafter, Among Gods returned to the studio last year to begin bringing Monument to life, its emergence scheduled for May this year.
The entrance of the single, like its overall presence, is restrained and steady but soaked in a rapacious intensity and atmosphere 
which intimidates and invites full focus. A rhythmic coaxing starts it off before the guitar winds a sonic lace of sound around the senses. It is instantly engaging bait soon joined by the burly coarse vocals of Ripper, his tones initially overwhelming the enjoyment already bred by the emerging sounds but eventfully falling into intrusive place. The prime groove which flirts with the imagination is a delicious lure and the strongest potency within the song but with Broke’s guitar craft and the ever badgering rhythms of Ivan taunting and teasing the imagination, the track is an imposing, dramatic, and malevolently engrossing proposition.
The one concern rising from the song is the production, which maybe can just be put down to the digital copy received here, its touch meandering in quality across the length of the track with certain moments soaked in up front clarity and others, like the vocals, seeming like they are drifting in a distant landscape. If the song is a demo cut, than all is good and anticipation for the album is ripe but if that aspect is the final glaze than a little uncertainty raises questions ahead of Monument. Nevertheless Malstrøm is a strongly satisfying and fascinating encounter helping spark a definite appetite for Among God’s sophomore album.
https://www.facebook.com/amonggods
7.5/10
RingMaster 12/02/2014
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