(written by Islander)
In 2016 the Dutch metal band Mass Deception launched their recording career with Revelations, the first album in a conceptual trilogy. They followed that in 2019 with Redemptions, and now (following the 2022 EP Halls of Amenti), they’re closing the story with a new album named Resurrections that will be released by Gruesome Records on July 25th.
To help spread the word, what we have for you today is the premiere of a riveting video for a riveting song off Resurrections called “Ruins of Dominion“.
In their current lineup Mass Deception is a gang of veterans, with resumes that include such names as Asphyx, God Dethroned, Cirith Gorgor, and Inhume. In creating their fusion of diverse sounds they have drawn influence from traditions of classic Heavy Metal, Thrash, and NWOBHM, and from the likes of Flotsam and Jetsam, Meliah Rage, Laaz Rockit, Nocturnus, Testament, King Diamond, and Judas Priest.
With respect to their new album, they’ve explained its thematic arc this way:
“As time cycles by infinitely like Ouroboros biting its own tail, tyrants come and go, and empires rise and fall. But those who are built on a foundation of lies and are ruled by the iron tongue are destined to crumble even faster.”
Lyrically, the song you’re about to hear looks forward to the downfall of such corrupt dominions brought about through the rise of ancient forces, and invites listeners to dance on their ruins.
As you might guess from that foregoing list of influences (if you didn’t already know), Mass Deception channel the words through singing, and the song is thus an earned exception to the tongue-in-cheek name of our site — earned because the high-flying vocals are delivered with fire and grit, and help fuel the music with a lot of fiery and gritty intensity.
As for the rest of the music, all the ingredients stand out in a production that provides clarity as well as heft. Mass Deception bring together riffing that’s sinister and slithering, but also feverishly darts and viciously slashes, backed by basslines that are both thunderous and nimble, as well as compulsive, neck-cracking beats and electrifying fills.
The song does sound evil — on the edge of derangement — and brazenly defiant, but the soloing sounds supernaturally dark, and near the end, as the vocals begin speaking but ultimately explode in screams, the riffing pulses like a grim siren (and that might be the song’s most highly headbangable phase of all).
The video, directed by Maurice Swinkels (Younique Film), is a hell of a thing to watch too, a combination of great shots of the band performing and world-ending animation.
ALBUM LINE-UP:
Waltmans (guitars)
Van Den Beuken (bass)
Klaus (vocals)
Sanders (drums)
Bänziger (guitars)
The new album was mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken at Soundlodge Studios in Germany (Anvil, Suicidal Angels, God Dethroned, Dew-Scented). It’s being released on vinyl LP, CD, and digital formats, and pre-orders are available now. Below the pertinent links you’ll also find a video for the new album’s first single, “Selling Souls! Buying Lies!“.
PRE-ORDER:
https://gruesomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/resurrections
MASS DECEPTION:
https://www.massdeception.nl
https://www.facebook.com/MassDeceptionOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/massdeception_official
GRUESOME RECORDS:
https://gruesomerecords.wordpress.com
https://gruesomerecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/GruesomeRecordsPT
https://www.instagram.com/gruesome_records