EWIGKEIT’s been a lot of things over its two decades plus, but predictable has never been one. Taking a break from his apparent goal of reimagining his early works album by album, Depopulate is the second EP of new work released by one Mr. Fog since September and – as expected – it’s a step to the side of his last.
Where XXIII was an incorporation of EWIGKEIT’s hazed out/dazed out/phased out ‘70s worship, Depopulate centers around various conspiracy “theories” and the evils (both real and too-real-to-be-imagined) regarding pharmaceutical giants, the sword of biotech, and all who live on what this planet has become over the past year and some change. Rampaging its way into your consciousness, ‘Patent Of Death’ is an eardrum-puncturing blend of KREATOR at its finest and HAIL OF BULLETS’ subtle melodicism, dancing deftly on that sonic fence of genre, committing to neither but effective in both.
‘Biosafety Level 4’ swirls like a laboratory centrifuge separating truth from fiction amid memorable riffwork and ascending/descending scales, while ‘Plandemic’ injects “You’ll take the shot” and “This isolation so hard to endure” making abundantly clear the subject matter amid a more measured main chord progression, but let’s go back to “memorable” here, for a bit. EWIGKEIT, in this 23 minutes alone, cranks out more solid hooks that stick in your brain than most bands manage over twice the length…when that’s the intent.
And even when melody or tunefulness have been front of mind for Mr. Fog, as in closer ‘The Great Reset’, the chaotic stormblasting scattered about still manages to infect. At its heart, Depopulate is a fresh, unbiased and unvarnished look at right here, right now. For that alone, it’s worth a listen, but. for those who’ve avoided EWIGKEIT because of its quirkiness at times, Depopulate is an ideal introduction.
Spread this dis-ease.
Review By: Lord Randall
EWIGKEIT
Depopulate
Death To Music Productions
4 / 6