Goddess of Death is a compilation of rehearsal tracks and previous EP/SPLIT/DEMO -material. The music has aged and that's exactly how it sounds - captured for more than a decade in some obscure crypt remaining hidden from the masses, until 2003, when Necroharmonic decided to unveil this secretive slab of doom death. As is custom for that time Goddess of Death sounds rather muddy, miles away from any clinical production that is now widespread. More often this kind of approach adds to the overall atmosphere greatly. You can almost imagine the recordings taking place in some long lost burial ground taking inspiration from all dead beings surrounding the area and transforming it into some horrifying unity. The production on Goddess of Death varies depending on the material. The first 7 tracks benefit from a fitting production that suits the music very well, after that things get even more muddier and we're presented some real obscurities that most likely have rarely seen any daylight. It doesn't really take much away from the performance delivered on Goddess of Death, but nor does it add much. Where Goddess of Death really shines out is in the vocal department. Sharon Bascovsky sounds really possessed, surely some foul abomination has taken possession of her and together they create a beastly sound, that forms a core part of the strong atmosphere presented on Goddess of Death. Most tracks progress fairly slow, to mid-paced, there are some vile faster parts (Time of Awakening), but they are sparse. Afterall this is doom death that focusses on atmosphere and there is tons of that on Goddess of Death. Crypts of Darkness is a perfect example of that, it starts off with some dungeon-like ambiance, backed up by tolling bells, before a rather omnious riff comes crawling upwards and beastly Sharon kicks in with her typical demonic grunts. Next up is, Begotten Son, another hightlight and simply again an ode to all that is dead. Most songs follow the same pattern, very high on the atmosphere, mostly slow to mid-paced, but it's highly effective and makes up for a very consistent listening experience. Goddess of Death is a definite must for anyone into death metal, others might have some difficulties with the fact that is mostly slow to mid-paced, but then again, that and the vocals are what make Derkéta such a succesful formula. Hopefully, Derkéta will soon release In Death We Meet, but in the mean time, we've got Goddess of Death to satisfy our grim needs.
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