The quick turnaround of any band is something that I will always find fascinating whenever the act in question is coming off of their debut. I would normally give the band a couple of years to bring something else to our ears, with many different factors causing delays, whether internal or external, to the writing process. Some, though, make it clear from the onset that they’re not interested in sitting around. When I first heard Evocator last year with their debut work of promising death-doom, I was ready to be quite patient when considering whatever follow-up they would hopefully bring to the table. Clearly, I didn’t have to wait long with their sophomore effort being precisely what we could’ve ever asked for.

Just barely over a year after the first proper release from Evocator, it’s clear that many lessons were learned, cues were taken, and opportunities were seized spectacularly as it’s the four historically-themed tracks that are presented to us with “Ancient Cataclysm” that we truly see this band take its sound to the next level. With a fitting title, it’s in these four tracks that Evocator takes well over 40-minute to craft an aural recounting of the fall of ancient civilizations ranging from the very earth consuming the ancient Mycenaean world to the 1200 BCE fall of Hattusa, all of which are fitted perfectly with Evocator’s particular blend of death and doom metal that truly embodies the very details of one’s known world falling before their very eyes be it in the form of flames, waves, famine, or war. It’s in every way that Evocator made damn sure that “Ancient Cataclysm” lived up to its very own name with every shred of the band’s power and sound coming into play in order to really bring this album to life in such a fashion that feels fitting both for the retelling of history or a performance of metal that cannot be considered anything short of devastating. So much of what makes death-doom of this breed such a treat to begin with is prevalent throughout the very entirety of this creation right from the beginning and unto the very end.

No matter whether or not these are reworkings of some of the earlier material from Evocator made before the ten-year vanishing or fresh material born from a new, voracious fire that has life and breath all its own, it should be clear to any who walks into this creation that Evocator has truly started down a path that it’s very comfortable with. Hopefully, the ball has really started to get rolling with all that’s brought forth in “Ancient Cataclysm” the kind of excellence that will keep us coming back again and again with this record really providing us an impressive display of power and prowess that cannot be simply put to the side.

LISTEN to “Ancient Cataclysm” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Evocator on Facebook here.