This is the début album from Spanish band Deprive. They play Old School Death Metal. Actually I should say “he plays”, as Deprive is helmed by just one man.
Into Oblivion has a morbid, ancient sound that evokes images of graveyards in decades past. For all this though the production is still warm and suited to the feel of the band.
This is 90’s-style Death Metal with a sound that’s even older than that. There are some eerie, emotive melodies amongst the riffs and the mastermind behind the band also has a nice grasp on some Doom licks, which are spread out liberally around the tracks.
Blast beats, mid-paced sections and Doom riffs all coalesce in Deprive’s songs to produce an album that sounds both authentic and satisfying.
The singer has a quality voice that’s deep and aggressive yet still as old and as venerable as the music.
Sometimes I feel I’ve reached my saturation point with Old-School Death Metal, but then a band like Deprive comes along and I can’t help but totally dig it. Their incorporation of blasting aggression and Doom-inflected passages into the standard Old-School template makes Into Oblivion a compelling listen.
The best thing, of course, is the songs themselves; all of these different elements are arranged naturally so that the band end up with tracks that are actually song-based as opposed to a collection of knitted-together riffs.
Deprive has impressed. Here’s to Into Oblivion!
