Thanatos - Global Purification

Published November 19 2014

*=Staff's pick	Global Purification The Murder Of Innocence* Infestation Of The Soul Queen Of Gore Nothing Left World Jihad The Demonized Minority* Feeding The War Machine Blood Will Be Spilled* Bastion Of Blasphemy*

Genre	Death Metal	Stephan Gebédi	Vocals
Tracks	10	Stephan Gebédi	Guitar
Running time	38 Min.	Paul Baayens	Guitar
Label	Century Media	Marco de Bruin	Bass
Release	17 November 2014	Yuri Rinkel	Drums
Country	Holland	-	Keyboard
Producer	Dan Swanö
Similar artists	Asphyx, Hail Of Bullets

Founded in 1984, although the debut album came first in 1990, Thanatos (Which is the Greek word for death) is usually credited for being the first Dutch extreme metal band. Global Purification, their sixth album, is however my first encounter with them. This means that my opinions are based solely on the album itself without taking their previous work into account.

The musical similarities to other Dutch death metal bands should surprise no one - especially as both vocalist Stephan Gebédi and guitarist Paul Baayens also play guitar in Hail of Bullets and, in Baayens' case, Asphyx. But while there are common elements to be found among these three bands, Thanatos seems to incorporate elements from Swedish as well as American death metal to a larger extent. The Murder Of Innocence, for example, draws parallells to Dismember and early Entombed with its haunting melodies and tempo changes. I also hear a lot of Deicide and Cannibal Corpse influences all throughout the record.

This is not to say that Thanatos lacks integrity or anything. On the contrary, I think they have a rather distinct concept of their own and I'm enjoying the album. It's a good piece of death metal without any major flaws but perhaps without any major edge, as well. One of the factors that do not impress me all that much is Gebédis singing, which is in the same style as Asphyx's Martin van Drunen but without that extra something to really make you remember.

Along with the previously mentioned The Murder Of Innocence, there are some more of the songs that definitely are close to something brilliant, such as The Demonized Minority - double bass drums in a mid-tempo song rarely sounded this good! The seasoned headbanger's choice also deserves a mention, i.e. the closing song Bastion Of Blasphemy with its Testament-esque guitar melodies.

Global Purification may not be a ground-breaking album but it's solid, has a well-balanced production and some songs really are exceptional. Having never heard Thanatos before, I've had a pleasant listening experience with it and if you're into death metal at all, then you should check this one out.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	6	7	5	6,5

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Blidmark