UMUR
"Steps of Descent" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Virginia based death metal act Cyaegha. The album was released through Canonical Hours Records in June 2008.
The band play a mix of old school US death metal in the vein of Morbid Angel and more contemporary sounding brutal technical death metal (lots of tempo changes and breaks). It proves to be a potent mix and "Steps of Descent" is a pretty intense death metal release. The vocals are brutal growls yet slightly intelligible. The musicianship is strong and the sound production professional and suiting the music well. The lyrics feature some horror based Lovecraft type themes, which songtitles like "Ulthar's Decree", "While Sarnath Lies Desolate" and "Epiphany of R'lyeh" also bear witness to.
After listening to the album I´m left with a good feeling about it, but it doesn´t completely blow me away. For that it doesn´t stand out enough or break away from the cliches of the genre, but less is sometimes enough and overall "Steps of Descent" is certainly a strong release by Cyaegha. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.