Derkéta - Goddess of Death (2003)

   It's always nice to see bands who didn't give up playing even after decades without a full-length album release. Derkéta haunted the underground scene since the late '80s, and after some lineup changes and longer inactive periods they have returned again in 1999.
   "Goddess of Death" is a compilation that includes their demo recordings and the songs of their split album releases. They introduced an alternative aspect of death/doom metal that sounds somehow similar to Cianide. They also tried to reach the heaviest depths in sound and build on the contrast of slow themes and sudden speed ups. Derkéta is different on one hand because they seemed like to enjoy chaos by operating with suddenly came hammerings more often, and to involve different themes to turn their songs diverse. Without connecting these themes together this made their songs more raw than how it's usual in death/doom. The other reason is why they were different is that they more or less preferred female lineup. That was quite extraodinary back then, especially in this style. This could have been also responsible for their experimenting ambitions, because they tried to express themselves from an emotional aspect in a style that rarely bulids on emotions. Still they've reached a remarkable level of conveying an unfriendly impression. There are plenty of enjoyable heavy themes to find on the compilation, and the rehearsal quality increases their effectiveness by it's dirty sound. Strongly recommended for the fans of dark and raw hopelessness.