Somber notes of sadness reign within the lurking heart of darkness…

"Undeceived" in their return, Sweden's Extol rises slowly from the underground as they unleash their bitter fury amidst a lackluster black metal mass in need of a tune up.

Gothic beauty blends nocturnally with rhythmic rage upon their searing "Inferno…" symphonic madness to soothe the blackest minds, "Undeceived" continues their own tradition for extending brutal death-like diatribes with power metal majesty while broadening their scope with passionately crafted classical moments and brief but calming mid-song break offs-all at once feel the majestic thunder within "Ember" or "Structure of the Souls" as the electricity shoots through your body leaving you wilted like the last rose of summer in the dry desert heat.

Following closely to their earlier "Mesmerized" six song release, and walking a narrow and winding path exploring the other side of life from a chaotic scope that withholds little else but sadness and despair within its bitter clutches, "Undeceived" is mighty yet mindful, bold... but not so beautiful.

There's a sense of longing within the lyrics-a false sense of security perhaps in a life void of spirituality- deliverance for the asking… no stars shining brightly across the jet-black sky.

Along with labelmates Lengsel, Extol, true state of the art spokesmen for the extreme, are fast evolving into new leaders of the latest underground revolution with their innovative tactics effectively extending the boundaries left behind by the likes of Amorphis.

Released by Solid State

Review by Vinnie Apicella

I'm listening to the opening notes of "Enthralled" from Extol's latest "Mesmerized" release and all I keep thinking is "Into a Dark Millennium" from one of God Dethroned's earlier records.

The guitar leads, in fact the whole structure is hauntingly similar-poor use of a cliché I know but who cares?

Further up the road a bit than the aforementioned Dutch death crew, Extol's on equal footing with them and others of the black metal and death persuasion.

"The Prodigal Son," who bludgeons his way into the picture as song two is about as good a combination as you'll find-and it's here where I really begin to notice the smooth production work.

Something that could easily work against a band with music of such extreme proportions, every guitar tone comes shining through the shred-but wait, we've got a breaking story by way of this settled down minute long time change that brings us to the end. Not bad at all.

The five member team hails from Norway and again worth noting that Norway's lagged somewhat behind the rest of the Scandinavia at least in terms of prominence. I believe they and fellow Solid State members Lengsel could well lead wholesale changes in that department.

We've got six tracks total here, with the first three having been done within the last couple of years and the latter three featuring burning remixes that add an extra element of transience in an otherwise bleak surrounding.

"Burial" apparently first showed up on an LP of the same name from '98 and without anything to judge it by personally, I'll go out on a limb and say this one's more interesting.

We've got a bit of mechanical flair here drowned in sound effects and other assorted stimuli of the haunting variety. audio to the forefront with the sound of tortured souls "buried" in the background.

Extol's "Mesmerized" is the musical embodiment of all their chosen title is representative of and flashes a symbiotic modern charge to their frightening nocturnal craft.

Released by Solid State

Review by Vinnie Apicella