The recipe of THE ORDER OF APOLLYON consists only of a few tasty basic ingredients; they mix a truckload of Polish efficiency with a pinch of French extravagance and cook their special soup.
Most of the time the dark quartet is bobbing along intensively, but already in the opener The Lies Of Moriah the tempo is reduced a little bit in sections and the measures are dragged out to put a stop to the monotony from the beginning. This stop-and-go tactic is good for the dynamics and creates a certain knock-over effect.
Interesting guitar fillers and a discreetly complex coloration characterize the otherwise quite direct and uncompromisingly pressing Rites Of The Immolator, the grooves from the middle of the song pleasantly hit the neck muscle directly. Grippy riffs as well as ruthless blasts form an unholy alliance and are always carried by a grumbling voice during the track Grey Father; the fluttering guitars together with fluent beat changes provide moments of tension.
The arrow-quick attacks inspire with their enthusiastic performance, which just misses the chaos, and the flashing lead melodies add the special something to the piece The Cradle. THE ORDER OF APOLLYON are clever foxes and know exactly, when the song needs a melodic note or simply unbridled aggression and follow this route to the end. Memorable choruses are missing, but the band doesn't need such platitudes, the flattening overall effect seems more important than easy to consume catchiness.
The piece called Soldat stands out because of its German title, the bilingual lyrics and the symphonic beginning, which radiates a majestic elegance and malice at the same time. I really like the unobtrusive, hoarse intoned vocals here, this composition is best remembered.
All in all, the playful squad cuts down everything that gets in their way over long stretches, but the pointed stops, melodic elements or softer passages loosen up the angry inferno at the right time and make this album an aggressive, but never bluntly chaotic overall work.