This is the fourth album from Danish deathcore band Cabal.
I really like Cabal, so was well chuffed when Everything Rots appeared on the horizon like a gathering storm. 2020’s Drag Me Down and 2022’s Magno Interitus were both first class examples of deathcore heaviness. The latter showed a progression in the band’s sound too, reducing the blackened influences. What will the 38 minutes of new material on Everything Rots reveal?
Everything Rots is Cabal’s longest album, and also has the most tracks. Even so, with the running time it has, those tracks are leaner, meaner, and crunchier.
Once again, we have Cabal’s blend of death metal, hardcore, industrial, and electronic components. The band’s past black metal aspects have been phased out almost completely. This has partially been replaced with an increased industrial presence that works well for the band, and partially by nothing in particular, as the band allow everything else to just drop away, and unleash deathcore violence as only they can.
The songs focus on brutal heaviness, but are also packed with hooks and memorable catchiness. The grooves move you whether you want them to or not, and the aggression is energetic. Cabal’s mix of influences continues to make their sound an enjoyable and compelling one, although this is definitely Cabal at their most direct.
I really like the singer’s vocals. He has a powerful voice, and it’s versatile too. Growls, roars, screams, semi-cleans, and more occur across the songs, and he always puts in a great performance. There are guests on five songs too, most notably from Distant, Aviana, and Viscera. There’s also a bonus track, which is a collaboration between Cabal and a band called Fabräk, and is essentially a rap/nu-metal song.
Everything Rots is another good album from Cabal. Currently, I think I prefer the previous two, but that could change given more time with the record. The songs, overall, are more simply constructed this time around, and sound like they are optimised for the live environment. This is only a small stylistic shift admittedly, as ultimately you could have easily said the same about all of Cabal’s work. Here, however, it seems a touch more obvious. This is no bad thing at all, and Everything Rots is a damn fun album to rage along too, but I’m interested to see how the album feels six months or so down the line.
Regardless, Cabal continue to be one of the better deathcore acts out there, so of you’re in the mood for crushing groove with sharpened hooks, look no further.
Wonderbox Metal 