PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Plague Bringers is the eighth full length album from the prolific one man melodic blackened death metal machine that is Bryan Eckermann.
Yep, I had not heard of him either before this release, which considering my preferred choice of music is unusual! A swift bit of research though comes up with a decent amount of information about him. As said above – Bryan’s output is quite prolific, having released 7 full length albums, 1 EP, and 7 singles since 2014. He is also totally independent to, which may account for me not having heard of him before now. Plague Bringers now brings the total albums to 8.
Bryan Eckermann pretty much does EVERYTHING on his albums, from playing all instruments, vocals, and production. One of the first things that hits about Plague Bringers, is the production. It’s clean, loud, yet organic enough to allow plenty of atmosphere to pervade each track.
Guests onboard to help bring forth the Plague
There are a couple of guest musicians who appear on a couple of tracks on Plague Bringers. Track 5 “Moonlight and Frostbite” features the vocal abilities of Canadian band Into Eternity‘s Stu Block, and tracks 2 “Sands Of The Hourglass” & 11 “Tomorrow’s Lie” feature Clint Williamson of Darker by design, who adds his drumming talents to both tracks, and vocals to the latter.
Fast paced with plenty of melody
Plague Bringers is exactly as described. It’s very melodic, fast paced blackened death metal, with some slower interludes that add to the atmosphere. This is used to great effect on the title track, before some very tasty solo guitar work kicks in. The only track not fitting this description, is the final outro track “Oblivion” which is actually a rather pleasant, and peaceful instrumental end to a hard hitting set of tunes.
Every track on here is perfectly executed, and had me wanting to not just hear them again, but to check out Bryan’s other output as well. Out of the 12 tracks we have here, “Plague Bringers” “Skinwalker” and “Tomorrow’s Lie” are my real standouts, but it’s all good and not to be knocked.
If you’re the type of metal fan…
…who enjoys bands like Cradle of Filth, God Dethroned, Old Man’s Child, and even Arch Enemy, this album has something for you. I would heartily recommend you go to Bryan’s Bandcamp page, and get this – it is available as a “Pay what you like” digital download – but support the artist and buy the CD or put in a few quid as it’s well worth it!
To sum things up, this is a quality hard hitting, heavy, yet very accessible album. It’s not creating anything new, but when it is this good, it doesn’t need to re-invent the wheel! There are far far worse albums out there to spend just over an hour of your time on, so give it a listen!
The album is out NOW!
Track Listing
1 – Ice Queen
2 – Sands Of The Hourglass
3 – The Devouring Sun
4 – Reflections In A Dirty Mirror
5 – Moonlight and Frostbite (featuring Stu Block)
6 – Plague Bringers
7 – An Oath Of Scrying Souls
8 – Astral Realms
9 – Skinwalker
10 – Of Death And Decay
11 – Tomorrow’s Lie (featuring Clinton Williamson)
12 – Oblivion
Links
https://bryaneckermann.bandcamp.com/
https://bryaneckermann.bigcartel.com/
- CD - $10
