It seems that Greg Mackintosh enjoys too much his return in old-school patterns and he doesn’t want to stop. After the disbanding of Vallenfyre, he continues with another project of similar sound to fill his free time from the mighty Paradise Lost. There are also other bands with the same name, strangely none of them from Romania, as Strigoi are vampiric creatures that exist in the Romanian mythology.
Greg handles guitars and vocals, with Christ Casket of Devilment in the bass guitar who played live for Vallenfyre during their two last years and in drums Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost, ex-Vallenfyre) who is blasting like there’s no tomorrow. I could say that “Abandon All Faith” continues from where Vallenfyre left us, even if there is a basic difference.
And this is that the doom elements have been reduced a lot. The sound remains European old-school death metal with grind and crust influences, but the tempos drop in very few instances and for forty-five minutes the album is a merciless attack. The only exceptions are “Carved Into The Skin” and the self-titled that have an amazing doom atmosphere, as they are the only ones that last six minutes compared to the rest that last from three to four. The sound is also rawer than before, Greg’s growls are excellent and he has some exceptional riffs up his sleeve.
It seems that the main composer of Paradise Lost didn’t want to stop exploring his roots and after Vallenfyre, Strigoi continue spreading the disease. A very dynamic old-school death metal release for the fans of this sound.
