CONVULSE - World without God

Convulse is one of the most interesting name of the Finnish metal scene in the early 90s. A relatively short-lived band, between 1988 - 1994, an initiator of old school Nordic death metal, who did not, unfortunately, have the chance that Grave or Dismember had, to receive the proper appreciation, not even in time. While in the case of the above two Swedish bands what counted was perseverance or luck, or both (because luck is 50 % of everything you do), this was not the case for Convulse, as the Finns only managed to release two studio albums. We will focus our attention on the first of them in the following. 

The record, titled suggestively World without God, warns the listener, both with its rather explicit title and its post-apocalyptic graphics about the direction followed by Convulse. Going in a blasphemous direction that is typical to the European scene (or Nordic, if you want to remain in the frozen lands) compared to what happened at the same time in the US (Cannibal Corpse were starting to be among the greatest, Monstrosity were around, and Suffocation were crushing everything in their path with the brutality imparted to the world by their Effigy of the Forgotten), Convulse are somehow in the same theme area with Grave, At the Gates (Garden of Grief), and many other names of the Northern Europe death metal scene in the early 90s. If you allow me, I would draw a comparison between the lyrics of the Finns from Convulse and the offerings of the masters of American thrash from Slayer: the same sinister blasphemy filled with atmosphere and grotesque that would make any mainstream music listener that is not familiar with the metal phenomenon to tremble and cross themselves.

Promoting an anti-Christian attitude with titles such as World without God, Blasphemous Verses, False Religion or Godless Truth, to name but the most explicit of them, Convulse managed to print with this record one of the darkest, most offensive and hateful releases of the 90s. With medium tempo, typical for school death metal bands, its sound could seem a bit stuffy and dusty for connoisseurs of extreme music of these days, and would have a better chance to be appreciated by those into blasphemic black metal, referring of course to the themes of the band’s lyrics.

In conclusion, World without God is an essential record for every listener of Nordic old school death metal, but also for any metal listeners that prefer honest extreme sounds, truly expressing something and not a typhoon of bpm, devoid in many cases of the slightest trace of soul.

H. Nota: 8.5