Blaspherian - Allegiance to the Will of Damnation
Review: Shaping a voice of its own out of the fertile ground left by old school death metal, Blaspherian combines the thunderous riffing of primitive death metal with the cryptic song structures of occult black metal. This creates "riff poems" that approach a topic, work themselves through an understanding of it, and then withdraw into an atmosphere of cavernous oblivion.
Riff styles resemble the early days of death metal, reminiscent of the spawn of Morpheus Descends and Asphyx, but these riffs are placed in songs that are simple in a structure that is unique in configuration, as if adapted to the riffs themselves. Like all good death metal, each successive riff complements the previous riffs and puts them into a new context, creating a mood of exploration in obscurity.
1. Allegiance to the Will of Damnation (5:14) 
2. Curse His Name (5:07)
3. Prayer of Satanic Hate (4:58)
4. Crusade Towards Unholy Deliverance (5:58)
5. Enthroned in Blasphemous Triumph (4:38)
6. Of Unholy Blood (3:16)
7. To Walk the Path of Unrighteousness (3:25)
Old school death metal eschews offbeat-based rhythms for cadences, introducing a slow rolling doom like thunder in distant mountains, and Blaspherian make this effect powerful by slowly introducing larger patterns that enclose the simple but all-encompassing rhythmic riffing. The result is like a demon birthing itself, a sense of morbidity curling up around a more basic pattern to assimilate it.
Vocals resemble the occult rantings of Sadistic Intent or Resuscitator, and song pacing calls to mind the spirit of the aforementioned Asphyx, but individual riffs resemble Obituary, Infester and a slowed-down first album Deicide. While it does not work to distinguish itself in style, this music gains a life of its own by combining artifacts of the past and finds a new voice for them within that style.