Well, the good news is that Greece’s Distortion of Perception have jettisoned the awkward, vocal styles that made their previous demo, Project One: I.S.O. Birth?, more off-putting than it would’ve been had they not included them. The bad news is that, by and large, the 30-minute Ordination is still an everyday death metal release, even if the band as a whole have slightly improved in every category except songwriting, which remains only marginally above average at best.
“Dead Men Walking” is a mid-paced tune, like its successors, and frontman Dimitris sticks to either a deep growl or raspy shout. Occasionally, however, clean singing pops up in songs such as “Filthy New World” and “Thy Epilogue,” and is thankfully better, though no less idiosyncratic, than what can be found on Distortion of Perception’s inaugural demonstration. While the most promising aspects of DoP’s overall assault are the guitar leads, the rest of the material feels like a rehash that isn’t bad, but certainly isn’t stellar. The melodies in “Filthy New World,” plus the melodious characteristics of “Tell a True Story,” are undoubtedly the classiest tricks up their sleeves, and, needless to say, the most enjoyable.
Essentially though, a lack of verve combined with a lack of innovation relegates Ordination to a status lower than its creators would prefer, I’m sure. At half an hour, DoP’s latest demo is easy to sit through, but afterwards, there’s no real motivation to hit play again. In any case, they have shown improvement, so perhaps there’s hope yet.