Essence’s history starts in 2005, when some very young friends from Denmark wanted to play Thrash in the Teutonic vein. They recorded an EP in 2007 (Art In Imperfection) and they officially debuted with the 2011-full length Lost In Violence in 2011. Indeed, when it comes to the choice of titles they still had / have to evolve, yet when it comes to the song writing and performance, well… Essence do sound as if they’re active for a decade!
In 2012 the guys won the Rock The Nation award and if gave them the opportunity to enter the studio with nobody else but Hypocrisy’s Peter Tägtgren. The professional studio production is the reason why this album sounds so perfectly balanced and organically perfected, but we did not expect something else, did we?...
When it comes to the material these guys (Lasse Skov, Mark Dastrup and Martin Haumann) play, I must think about a modernised edition of some Germanian Protagonism, i.e. an updated version of Kreator, Destruction and the likes, but mixed with elements from both the U.S. and the Scandinavian scene (especially the Swedish and Danish, of course). Read: Bay Area-meet-Gothenburg…
Despite the nice songs, I do miss an own face, nevertheless, as well as the necessary variation. The guys are close to excitement, yet I think they must mature some more. The initial elements for persuasion and conviction are present; the final elaboration, however, is yet to come.