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It's been a while since I checked in on Atrocity. I adored their first two albums and still consider their technical yet catchy death metal some of the very best ever made, but then they changed musical direction and released the horrendous Blut, an album so bad I stopped following them afterwards. Now here we are with their latest album, Okkult III, the third instalment in their Okkult trilogy, the first album I've listened to from them in 29 years (fuck, I'm old), and one I was initially going to ignore until the cheesy album cover drew me in. Thankfully, my intuition was right again, and it seems that, at least with this release, Atrocity finally got back to what they are good at.

Okkult III lyrically focuses on humanity's dark side as it discusses obscure historical stories, and the music follows suit with crunchy, slightly modern death metal that comes with a thick atmosphere thanks to well-employed choirs, various sound effects, and keyboard sections. Alex's growls are also back and still as powerful as ever, with some moments reminding me of David Vincent in his prime, and he adds a lot to the dark, layered intensity that permeates throughout. Songs like opener "Desecration of God," "Fire Ignites," "Bleeding for Blasphemy" and especially the frightening "Malicious Sukkubus" are exactly the kind of songs I wish the band kept doing instead of whatever the hell Blut was supposed to be, and it goes to show that these guys are at their best when they just stick to death metal. Recommended, especially if you're an old fan who left like I did.