Band: Armagedon
Title: Death Then Nothing
Label: Mystic Production
Distribution: Suburban
Release date: 17/05/2010
Review: CD

When you talk about the Polish old school scene, everyone mentions Vader or Behemoth. Sometimes names as Violent Dirge, Betrayer, Magnus, Kreon or Cenotaph might appear too, but I’m sure those who were involved with the scene back then do remember the name Armagedon. …or am I just getting old and melancholic?
As a matter of fact, Armagedon might be one of the oldest extreme Metal bands from Poland. The band started in 1986, when the East-European Metal scene was very ‘underground’, especially because of the political situation back then. They released a first self-called and self-produced demo tape (on cassette - CD-formats were unexisting those days - damn, I’m really getting old and melancholic) in 1988, and slowly Armagedon became one of Poland’s most ‘popular’ bands. The next demo tape, Dead Condemnation, was recorded in a professional studio in 1991, and it drew the attention of Carnage Records, resulting in the release of the first full length album (on vinyl-LP, indeed), called The Invisible Circle (released in 1993).

But unfortunately, in spite of the great responses in both their home country as well as the rest of Europe and Northern America, Armagedon split up in 1994.
2006. Founding members Krizz and Slavo, and good friend Sooloo, who played in the band since 1990, reformed Armagedon. The trio started rehearsing and they entered Studio X (Olsztyn, Poland) in late 2008 for the recording of their second full length. After they signed to Mystic Production, the long-awaited successor of The Invisible Circle was released in February 2009. Now, with a decent promotion, this recording is available too in almost the whole metallic world.

Death Then Nothing sounds as if it were recorded fifteen years ago - except for the sound, which is very professional, powerful and hammering. The tracks stand for -what else did you expect- an old school-oriented form of violent, uncompromising Death Metal with a fast-forward and straight-ahead approach. What strikes me most is the enormous enthusiasm presented by the members, acting as if they did never disappear from the scene. The combination of 21st century’s maturity and late 80s / early 90s malevolence is excellently balanced, leaving the listener with open mouth (and wide-opened ears!). Of course it lacks of superfluous absurdity or well-polished modern clichés and that’s just fine. And the simplicity behind it (and simplicity isn’t synonym to ‘easy’!!!) makes the whole sound so honest, so unbelievable ‘true’.
I hope Armagedon’s next release won’t take another century and a half (because then I will be too old to remember the early years???)… One of the greatest comebacks in years…

85/100

Ivan Tibos.