Spit on Your Grave – Arkanum (Review)

This is the third album from Mexican death metallers Spit on Your Grave.

Arkanum provides us with 32 minutes of melodic death metal that showcases Spit on Your Grave’s considerable skills. This is my first encounter with the band, but they are clearly more than capable of competing in the death metal big leagues.

With a lean running time and songs that don’t outstay their welcome, there is no pointless filler on Arkanum, I’m very pleased to say. The songs start, do their thing, and end. Within this, Spit on Your Grave impress with their tight songwriting and professional performances.

The well-written songs burst with riffs and hooks. Each track delivers a song-focused and energetic slab of aggression that benefits from the band’s well-considered execution and passion. Combining brutality and melody to sit somewhere between the two, Spit on Your Grave reap benefits from both.

The songs showcase a band willing to push themselves, who are not content to merely be average. The bare bones of the songs are well-composed to make the most of a host of assets, basically just good ideas that work – dynamic heaviness, effective transitions, a multitude of riffs, etc. Around this sit a number of embellishments that enrich the music’s appeal and add further depth. Just some examples include components like electronic enhancements, keyboard layers, bass-driven highlights, or bursts of epic melodic splendour. Taken all together, it makes for a strong collection of songs.

I’ll also mention the singer’s brutal singing as a standout aspect of Arkanum. She gives an exemplary vocal performance that’s more passionate and dynamic than your average set of growls usually is. It’s firmly death metal, but more expressive and forceful than we are typically treated to.

Arkanum is a strong and enjoyable record. Spit on Your Grave have produced a satisfying album that is better than the norm, and if you’re a death metal fan that favours songs over sheer brutality or technicality for the sake of it, then this is for you.

Very highly recommended.