Praise The Plague/Suffocating In The Current Of Time/Lifeforce Records/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Praise  The  Plague  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Suffocating  In  The  Current  Of  Time"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Lifeforce  Records.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  and  atmospheric  sounding  synths  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilzied  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  style  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast b eats  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  added  into  the  faster  riffing  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  One  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  onto  the  album  as  well  as  some  clean  playing  also  being  utilized  briefly  and  one  song  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  war  and  spoken  word  samples.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  religion,  darkness  and  oppression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Praise  The  Plague  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  post  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Tide"  and  "Throne  of  Decay".  8  out  of  10.

  

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Praise The Plague Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We are finally able to rehearse on the regular and we are getting ready to play live again. We've been spending the last months promoting the release and looking to book shows for the next year.

2.You have a new album coming out in July, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

To us, 'The Obsidian Gate' feels like a journey. The songwriting has rather been influenced by black metal, than it had been before. 'Antagonist' and 'Antagonist II' have more doom parts in them. All in all it still is a good mixture between both of the genres.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

We often talk about depression in our lyrics, 'The Obsidian Gate' is no different there. The story is about a person, who thinks is dying, only to realize that it's all just an illusion. In the end this illusion still becomes reality.

As for the progress, this is the first full length, that we have written together. The process might've similar to our prior releases, since Marcel is still the main songwriter, but he had our influences to work with. We all grew together as a group and we grew as individuals.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Praise The Plague'?

It is about humankind being the plague, considering itself to be above all. We praise ourselves for what we have become, and we don't realize what we have destroyed along the way.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

It is very important to us, that we not only transport impressions and emotion through our music, but also through the visual side. 'The Obsidian Gate' is a suppressing journey between a dream and the reality. This path takes you through anxiety and dark emotions, a journey till the end, into complete darkness.

It was a weeks long process that aligned with Roberts story writing phase. In the end we realized a depiction of what the lyrics transport. Therefore the artwork is like a veil, which is penetrated by harsh and solid elements. The deeper you look into the landscape, the more details you can find.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

We had the opportunity to play with a lot of friends like A Secret Revealed, Ancst, Earth Ship and Der Weg Einer Freiheit. Sharing the stage with people we like is probably the best thing that can happen to us and we are always looking forward to that.

7.The new album is going to be released on 'Lifeforce Records', how would you compare working with this label to your previous label 'Black Omega Recordings?

Lifeforce is the well known label here. They have a long history of releasing bands. We have felt very comfortable with Black Omega, pretty much equally comfortable as we are now. This is as far as i will go with comparisons.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge and doom metal?

We are glad if people get to know us here in Europe. Sure, there are a couple of people that have heard of us in the US for example, but i wouldn't dare and say that we are a worldwide known artist.

9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

As a matter of fact, Marcel, Sascha and Benjamin have a side project called Naenia. But other than that, it's all Praise the Plague here.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We will stick to what we know, maybe change the emotions a little. Things like that usually happen pretty natural without us forcing things, so we'll see.

11.What are you listening to nowadays?

Pretty much whatever the combined worlds of doom and black metal throw at us.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview, we really appreciate that and we hope to see some of you sooner than later!

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Praise The Plague/The Obsidian Gate/Lifeforce Records/2021 CD Review

 

  Praise  The  Plague  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "The  Obsidian  Gate"  which  will  be  released  on  July  30th  by  Lifeforce  Records.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  bass  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  some  heavier  riffing.  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies.

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  growls,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  some  of  the  songs  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  A later  song  is  also  an  instrumental  and  the  closing  track  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  synths.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  suffering,  pain, torment,  depression  and  nihilism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Praise  The  Plague  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Descent"  and  "The  Ascent".  8  out  of  10.

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