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Nov 9, 20223 min read

Condemned - Realms of the Ungodly (2011)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 8, 2011, Condemned released their second full-length studio album Realms of the Ungodly via Unique Leader Records.


Overview:

This barbaric creation has taken huge steps ahead of their debut with more devastating brutality fused with dark visions of ancient evil, bestial figures and barren worlds of tormented spirits. Condemned ravages through scores of enfeebled souls to bring to you the heaviest Death Metal release of 2011. The release was recorded by engineer Samur Khouja of Seahorse Sound Studios and mastered by Scott Hull of Visceral Sound Mastering giving the final product a massive & high quality sound. The phenomenal art concept was created by the famous Jon Zig.



Click this link to purchase Realms of the Ungodly via Bandcamp: https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/realms-of-the-ungodly


Click this link to listen to Realms of the Ungodly via Apple Music - iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/realms-of-the-ungodly/1298808490


Critical Reception:

In a review for NO CLEAN SINGING, The Baby Killer wrote;

“I always love watching a band’s evolution; there’s something gratifying about seeing a band that you stumbled upon one day honing their craft and growing as both musicians and songwriters. Such is the case with San Diego’s Condemned, whose newest full length Realms of the Ungodly sees them transcending their humble slam beginnings and coming into their own as a promising technical Brutal Death Metal band.
Of course, this isn’t to say that their key elements aren’t still there. Condemned have always had a unique sound, mostly due to Angel Ochoa’s distinct gutturals and Forrest Stedt’s extremely tightly tuned snare, and all of that is still available in spades, but this time around they’ve cranked everything up to eleven. Ochoa’s voice is deeper and more natural sounding, and the snare has a sharper ring to it now that it doesn’t sound so compressed. Combine that with Steve Crow and Paul Avila’s skillful blending of slams and tremolo riffs and you have the pandemonium that is Condemned.
The band’s previous album, Desecrate the Vile, was no lightweight to begin with, but it was still a fairly straightforward slam album, whereas Realms of the Ungodly could easily be mistaken for Defeated Sanity. Pretty impressive change in the space of just one album, even if they were a few years apart.
The songs tend to blend into each other after a while, but don’t let that deter you. Usually when people say that about an album they mean it gets monotonous, but in this particular case it actually speaks to the band’s consistency. Some songs are better than others, sure, but even the songs that sound the same are all really good, and I don’t know about you but I certainly can’t complain about that. The solo in the title track helps break up the “monotony” for a bit, but it’s pretty brief and it’s the only one on the album. Who knows, maybe Condemned will continue to expand their sound and have more solos in the next one.
One more thing that really impressed me with this album was its well-penned lyrics. It’s common knowledge that Death Metal goes with images of hellish otherworldy dimensions like PB&J, and Realms is no exception, but it does it very well. The lyrics are very in-depth, giving detailed accounts of the actual biology of the demons and monsters. Example from the opening track Ere the Dark Sovereign: “Breeding in pitch darkness, genus endemic to the catacombs of the underworld. Utterly devoid of sensation, asexual process of autoreplication”. It’s nice to see a band as brutal as Condemned really putting effort into their lyrics when they could just as easily have scribbled down “hail Satan death gore zombies gguuuuurrrgh” and no one would have been the wiser.
While we’re on the subject, I should point out that Ochoa’s sewer-drain-in-a-rainstorm gutturals actually do become more intelligible if you read along with the songs, but even still, I highly doubt these dudes get a whole lot of guys in the audience mouthing along with them at shows.
And there you have it folks, Condemned in a nutshell. From its effectively ominous intro to the closing track Submerged Upon Phlegethon, Realms of the Ungodly is a consistently heavy, well-written half-hour of controlled chaos, and hopefully one of many to come from a legitimately talented band with a lot to offer the scene. Highlights include Ere the Dark Sovereign, Realms of the Ungodly, Forged Within Lecherous Offerings and Submerged Upon Phlegethon. If you like your music fast and your slams beefy, this one’s definitely for you.”

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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