Engulfed: Engulfed in Obscurity (2017)

One of the things I love most about listening to heavy metal is finding bands from unusual countries that one would not think would have a metal scene.  Metal has become such a worldwide phenomenon that scenes have sprung up in places like Africa and the Middle East among a ton of other places.  Here, we have Engulfed, the first band I have ever heard from Turkey.  Technically I have heard them before, I reviewed their 2012 EP several years ago, but this is the first physical release I have from a Turkish band and Engulfed was the first Turkish band I heard back then (somehow I have missed out on Cenotaph so far).  So now we have the band's first full-length.

I had to review my previous Engulfed review to refresh my memory a bit of the band.  Some time ago, the computer that I had that EP saved to crashed so I have not heard it for a long time.  I remember really liking it, which is why I decided to pick up the full-length.  One song appears on both, the ever-charming "Inseminated with Demon Seed". 

Engulfed takes on more of an old-school occult death metal sound.  The reference point I used in the last review and the one that is still the most fitting is Incantation.  The band pummels the listener with riffs and sledgehammer drumming.  The vocals are deep, demonic roars.  And engulfing (see what I did there?) everything is a hostile, hellish atmosphere. 

This is the band's debut full-length and it re-captures everything that made the EP so good, I'm pretty sure.  It has been awhile.  I am looking forward to hearing more from the band in the future. 

FMA Reviews: Engulfed: Through the Eternal Damnation

Originally reviewed here.

I have been able to find virtually no information on Engulfed out there, so I really went into this one blind. The little information I have been able to find is that Engulfed is a death metal band from Turkey and that they are made up of members of Deggial, Burial Invocation, and Decaying Purity.

This is a very short EP, featuring only four songs and being less than 25 minutes in length. But do not mistake its brevity for being an easy album to listen to. Engulfed is brutally intense. Engulfed's style of death metal is most similar to Incantation and Angelcorpse and other more occult death metal bands. The music is a whirlwind of riffs and pounding drums and deep guttural roars. There are some black metal elements thrown in to the point that many will probably call this a blackened death metal band, but for the most part this is just a fast and furious underground death metal band.

Engulfed apparently do not believe in being calm. This EP blasts by with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. It is an absolutely punishing album. One which is bound to cause strained necks and headaches. There are a few moments where the music slows down a bit, but the drums continue to pound away and what the band decreases in intensity, they more than make up for with dissonant chords and atmosphere.

For everyone out there claiming that death metal has become sterile and lifeless, I would urge you to check out Engulfed. It's just a shame this is only an EP and not a full-length.