Just when I thought most of the Death Metal records coming out recently had an enormous lack of conviction and played with zero emotion, here comes ENGULFED from Istanbul, Turkey with their debut album "Engulfed In Obscurity" to prove me wrong. 49 minutes of incredibly good music! Wow, just wow! I was already curious when I heard the ominous and eerie guitar melody off the instrumental intro ‘Escalation Of Darkness’. Two minutes in and after a fade out, ‘The Halls Of Grim Eternity’ kicks in with such force that it just blew me away. When it comes down to the music, the songs flow flawlessly. They have enough tempo changes to keep everything interesting and there are at least 2 or 3 memorable riffs in each one. I also dig how they manage to keep a haunting atmosphere with the slow segments. Then they mix them with wild speed outbursts, anywhere between mid paced and blast beat patterns. Now, keep in mind that ENGULFED is a trio. How the hell do they manage to sound so gigantic is amazing! Serkan’s vocals are deep, aggressive and thick as fuck! Just like his bass playing. Drummer Aberrant keeps up the pace with a hell of a performance with tasty fills and solid drum patterns. And then you have Mustafa, who combines precise tremolo riffing and huge open chords with some excellent leads. The production is really organic. The instruments are perfectly heard in the mix, but there is also a "dirt" factor in the overall sound. Which I absolutely dig! I can’t really pinpoint any noticeable influences other than pure Death Metal. Sure, the guitar tone has some NWOSDM in there. And I can hear some MYTHOS / ADRAMELECH / DEMIGOD vibe too. But these are just reference points because ENGULFED is a total different beast! They have added their twist and it shows throughout the album. "Engulfed In Obscurity" feels so fucking familiar; just like one of those classic early 90s albums that you have heard countless times. Yes, it is that good! So go ahead, buy this album immediately, sit down and crank the volume up, cause you are in for a hell of a ride! Basically, you can’t call yourself a Death Metal fan if you don’t like this. Period! Show your support to the band here: www.facebook.com/engulfedtr. And buy the album from their label here: www.hellthrasher.com