Review: Decayed Existence – The Beginning of Sorrows
Review – Decayed Existence – The Beginning of Sorrows
When one thinks of early Christian death metal bands, the first ones that probably come to mind are Mortification and Living Sacrifice, maybe Metanoia and Crimson Thorn as well. But who out there thinks immediately of Decayed Existence? Up until a little while ago, I had no idea that this band even existed as long as they had. An argument could be made for their 1990 demo for being the first Christian death metal release, except for the fact that they were allegedly not always a Christian-themed band. Regardless, they’ve never stopped since forming, releasing several albums and EP’s along the way. The Beginning of Sorrows is only the latest EP in a long line of releases.
The Beginning of Sorrows Review
Think of it this way. This is old-school death metal, proper, played by an actual old-school death metal band. But with this release, there is certainly some correlation between Decayed Existence and the retrodeath movement that’s been a huge deal for the last ten odd years. The similarity is this – the big names in new OSDM all wear their influences on their sleeves, and so do Decayed Existence. The secular OSDM bands as of late often draw from bands like Incantation, Demilich, Timeghoul, Morbid Angel, and Death; here, Decayed Existence draw heavily from the death metal side of Mortification, but also bear some similarities on here with Feast Eternal and Crimson Thorn. Not that the band just draws on Christian influences – I totally can hear some Nexus of Teeth-era Hyperdontia on “Escape the Dead” and that’s a good thing. “Baptized” and “Mind Wars” echo Mortification at their heavier moments (think Erasing the Goblin), I hear a bit of deathcore on “Beheading the Colossus” (I feel like modern death metal acts just can’t help themselves sometimes and just have to throw in those elements), and “Beginning of Sorrows” blends the Mortification vibes with (I swear) some doomy passages that sound like they could of come off of My Dying Bride’s Turn Loose the Swans. An interesting mix.
Overall, The Beginning of Sorrows sounds like a long lost Mortification record in some ways, but blended together with some of the noise being puked out by modern OSDM bands.
As an added bonus, the EP throws in some brutal live tracks as well that are well recorded and give a sample of the band’s onstage power (check out “Where Death Dies” for some cool Living Sacrifice vibes thrown in the mix).
Themes and Lyrics
Decayed Existence’s main lyrical thrust is mostly to do with personal struggle against sin. “Beheading the Colossus” uses the metaphor of a giant to illustrate the seeming insurmountableness of our own sins and failings, but encourages us to overcome this giant in Christ. “Mind Wars” touches on the endless negativity on the news as signs of the last age, but also seems to focus on it all as a way to keep us distracted and asleep. It reminded me of a quote I read by Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos: “Don’t sit glued to the television…Guard yourselves from the means of mass blinding.” Other tracks such as “Escape the Dead” deal with rejecting false religions. Along with personal struggle on a spiritual level, the theme of one’s being controlled by other sources in lieu of surrender to God runs throughout the record.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Beginning of Sorrows sounds like a long lost Mortification record in some ways, but blended together with some of the noise being puked out by modern OSDM bands. Guitars are heavy, grinding, and decidedly ugly. The drums have that cavernous effect that functions as a timewarp straight to the early 90’s. As a huge fan of the sounds peddled by much of the new wave of OSDM, it’s great to see the Christian scene churning out something similar, but drawing on the Christian greats as well as the secular ones. The Christian metal world needs more of this, and hopefully we’re going to see more of this kind of thing coming down the pipes. Definitely recommended.
For Fans Of
- Mortification
- Cannibal Corpse
- Hyperdontia
- Feast Eternal
- King’s Hammer
- Broken Flesh
- Crimson Thorn
Check out the EP here:
1 – qtd. in Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit: The Lives and Counsels of Contemporary Elders of Greece, ed. Herman A. Middleton (Protecting Veil: 2011), 74.
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