Review: Iskariot “Zelot” [Running Wild Productions]

Stahlstadt Metal par excellence…

Linz is not only one of the major cities in Austria, but it’s also a veritable spawning ground for metallic talent in a variety of shapes and forms; now this exciting concoction here might actually be one of the city’s finest offerings in recent years. Iskariot was just formed a few years ago, but has already delivered an impressive second EP with Zelot. Rooted in the rather loosely defined genre description of blackened death metal, this 25-minute mini-opus switches gears and influences pretty regularly, with a few more obvious references poking through the perfectly adequate mix.

Opener „Lied der Stille“ grabs some old-school Mediterranean black metal tropes and weaves them into a splendid mixture of early Mercyful Fate motifs, tastefully simplistic, harmonized palm-muted grooves, and atmospheric tremolo-picked melodies reminiscent of that other band with an „…Iscariot“ in their moniker. The inclusion of a high/low double attack in the vocal department further increases the difficulties in shoehorning this band into pre-baked categories. Some more modern elements pop up later, with „Verlorene Welt“ offering Gojira-like dynamic chugs in the rhythm attack and the tribalistic drumming in „Zeit“ trading blows with Blut aus Nord-esque tremolo sadness, painting a bleak picture, put to words in well-versed German poetry.

Generally, as the record progresses, the mood shifts into darker territory with every passing minute, leading into the great closer – the aforementioned „Zeit“. The lyrics – while never particularly uplifting overall – now deal with the gruesome passing of time and the metaphysical effects on the ailing body and mind. The quality songwriting turns this into a well-measured blend of epicism and depressive undertones, right until the final riffs and drum kicks ultimately nail the coffin shut.

Not every single note or chord progression on Zelot might seem fresh and entirely original, but the way Iscariot has crafted these songs is highly engaging, and the EP breezes by in what feels like mere minutes. Their best ideas and motifs are probably packed into the opener and closer, but not a single track here should be missed by fans of melodic extreme metal that could be described as immersive, rather than casual.

A great, substantial chunk of Austrian metal.

https://www.facebook.com/iskariot.official/