Swedish Death Metal – Page 14

Deathrite – Revelation of Chaos (Review)

This is the third album from German Death Metallers Deathrite.

This is Old-School/Classic Death Metal that’s filthy and dirty as Hell. It also has a poisonous mixture of both Doom and Hardcore influences pulsating through its infected blood.

Yes, this is an interesting mixture of different types of extremity all wrapped up in a Death Metal giftbox. There’s an air of the Swedish style to their attack, as well as a whiff of a chainsaw in their sound; there’s a Doomy Asphyx/Incantation vibe going on; there’s a Hardcore/Grindcore energy à la Nasum; and there’s plenty of balls-ahead Death Metal fun for all of the family!

The songs are heavy and nasty, with plenty of bite and a substantial presence. This is a compact little album lasting 35 minutes that doesn’t outstay its welcome and is in fact the kind of thing you’ll find yourself playing again almost straight away.

The singer has a throaty growl that’s malignant and rabid. It complements the aggressiveness of the music perfectly.

This is a top quality album full of decent Metal tunes and plenty of big riffs, with everything you see and hear being covered in filth, of course.

Highly recommended.

Wombbath – Downfall Rising (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish Death Metallers Wombbath.

I knew I had to review this one as soon as I saw the band name. Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Well, that got my attention.

Here we have 32 minutes of gore-soaked Death Metal. Yes, they’re Swedish, and yes, they play Death Metal, so yes, this is Swedish Death Metal, chainsaws and all.

After a pointless intro we get some immediately tasty guitar brutality and I’m instantly reminded of why I have such a soft spot for this particular Death Metal sub-genre.

In addition to the requisite chainsaw sound of the crushing guitars, the macabre melodies are also present and correct. Old-School Swedish Death Metal may not be for everyone, but if you are partial to it then Wombbath certainly have all the right moves.

The vocals are daemonic-sounding growls that seem to scrape through into the world from a throat that has been to all of the dark places in existence. It’s an impressive roar and a little different from the generic deathgrunting that populates most Death Metal albums.

The songs tear and rip their way through the playing time and have a good diversity of speeds and tempos, from blast to crawl. The songwriting is good and if you’re into the style this is a good example of how it’s done right.

Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Time to test the waters.

Entrails – Obliteration (Review)

This is the fourth album from Swedish Death Metallers Entrails.

Upon pressing play you’re greeted with some ominous bells. What follows is authentic Old-School Swedish Death Metal, and everything that this much-loved/maligned sub-genre offers.

Obliteration has a crushing sound and features the full compliment of chainsaws, as is normally expected from the style. Everything sounds great and the music immediately sucks you in.

I do have a soft-spot for this type of Death Metal it’s true, but this is such an honest style of brutality that it’s hard not to be captivated by it.

The band write good songs and good riffs. That alone should be enough to endear them to most metalheads in my opinion. Add to this the strong production and vocals that sound like they’ve been dredged up from the deepest pit and Obliteration is a very well-rounded album.

The best thing, though, is the songs themselves. They have an energy to them that cannot be denied and it’s clear that the band still have a healthy passion for the style even though this is their fourth full-length outing.

Coupled with the quality riffing is the Swedish Death Metal melody that we know and love. Then there’s the catchy songs with decent choruses; this is a recipe for a winner, not to mention what I can only imagine is a phenomenal live show.

A very impressive album. Entrails demonstrate once more why they’re at the top of the heap when it comes to Swedish Death Metal.

For fans of Grave, Dismember, Unleashed, Entombed, and the like.

Gutter Instinct – The Insurrection (Review)

Gutter Instinct are a Swedish Death Metal band and this is their début EP.

Upon pressing play you’re immediately confronted with a massive Swedish chainsaw sound and the band firmly set out their agenda for musical destruction in the first ten seconds.

This is authentic Swedish Death Metal and yes, I’m an absolute sucker for this style.

The band rage and roar along the 18 minutes playing time of this EP with all of the abandon of a giant running through a sea of delicate flowers. Or some other, more manly image. Whatever.

The vocals are a particular delight, as they’re utterly guttural, bestial and gruff in all of the best ways.

The guitars are heavy and have the tone all right. The band generally go for a little less macabre melody than a lot of Swedish Death Metal and instead opt for a more brutal approach; the melodies are still employed but the rhythms are the main stars of the show.

As an introduction to the band this is more than capable. Swedish Death Metal is a much maligned sub-genre in many ways, but as I’ve said before – what’s not to like here?

Check them out.

Creeping Flesh – Rising Terror (Review)

Creeping Flesh are from Sweden and play Death Metal. That’s right, it’s Swedish Death Metal time again! This is their latest EP.

Well, you just can’t keep a good sub-genre down, despite what some may wish. I have a bit of a fondness for this particular style of Death Metal so I was looking forward to checking this out.

War Metal. Swedish Death Metal. Old-School Death Metal. Whichever way you cut it, this is this stuff, right here.

Straight away the chainsaws are revved and the macabre melodies are introduced. Creeping Flesh waste no time in making their intentions known.

Heavy riffs are dropped like bombs and a deep growling bellowing is unleashed on an unsuspecting populace. Like all Swedish Death Metallers, Creeping Flesh recognise a good marching groove when they get themselves into one.

This EP boasts a strong recording and everything sounds crushing. More importantly, the band show themselves to have some good songwriting skills and the 5 tracks on Rising Terror hit the spot.

Dark melodies, chugging riffs and decent leads/solos mean this is a very satisfying way to spend 23 minutes and a very solid lump of Swedish Death Metal.

Highly recommended.

Austerymn – Sepulcrum Viventium (Review)

Austerymn are a UK Death Metal band and this is their début album.

This may be a UK band but there’s a definite whiff of Sweden about them; it’s Old-School Swedish Death Metal in the familiar style and with a roaring sound.

I’ve said this before, but your tolerance for this sub-genre will essentially dictate your response to Austerymn. Had enough? Then move along. Can’t get enough? Lap this up.

This is such a faithful recreation of the classic style that you almost have to double-check who you’re actually listening to and what year it was released in.

Dark melodies that are a hallmark of the style are peeled off with ease and the crushing rhythms are equally effortless. The harsh, molten-metal vocals seem born for the music.

The songs on the album have a strictly no-frills approach and concentrate on being heavy while creating macabre atmospheres with the melodic guitars.

Fat chugging and aggressive drumming make for songs that have an edge to them and the general structuring of the tracks mean that they’re surprisingly memorable and enjoyable affairs.

If you can’t get enough of the sound espoused by the old days of Entombed, Dismember and the like, then Austerymn are here to sate your bloodlust.

Unleashed – Dawn of the Nine (Review)

This is the twelfth album from these Swedish Death Metal warriors.

Unleashed should need no introduction. Instrumental in birthing the Swedish Death Metal scene and sound, Unleashed’s place in Metal history is cemented.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Swedish Death Metal recently, as played by different bands all over the world. Now, however, it’s time to return to the source and pay homage to the kings.

Unleashed are on fine form here. Songs, aggression and Vikings are the themes of this album and Unleashed are at the top of their game.

The vocals are expressive and charismatic, managing to exemplify an older strain of Death Metal while remaining individual and as accessible as anything like this is going to be.

When listening to Dawn of the Nine it’s easy to be reminded of the debt that a whole raft of other bands owe Unleashed, and not just those that play Swedish Death Metal either.

Quality riffs abound on this release and there’s a good mixture of faster and slower tracks. Each song has its own personality and it’s always nice to hear an album where each track can be identified in it’s own right. There is no filler.

After all these years Unleashed know themselves perfectly and Dawn of the Nine is the kind of highly proficient and polished Death Metal release that you’d expect from such a veteran band.

But do you know what? Do you know what’s really important? The music itself. Legacy, expectations, reputation, etc. aside; all that matters, all that ever matters, is the music.

Unleashed deliver and Dawn of the Nine is a great listen. This is a band with a future, as well as a past.

The Dead Goats – Don’t Go in the Tomb (Review)

The Dead Goats are a Death Metal band from Poland and this is their latest EP.

This short sub-12 minite EP features two original songs and a Repulsion cover.

As you can probably tell from the band logo, this is Death Metal of the definite Swedish variety.

Sporting a proper chainsaw sound, The Dead Goats proceed to impress with their mastery of this particular sub-genre.

Their take on the style is one that has a nice filthy Punk undertone and vocals that are slightly higher than the norm but still as nasty as Hell.

This is high-energy, high-excitement Swedish Death Metal that relies less on macabre melodies and groove than it does belligerent attitude and steamroller aggression.

Like all Swedish-styled Death Metal though the emphasis is on songs, and songs we get; simple but catchy, professionally performed, yet still reeking of the crypt.

The higher vocals and general elevated-aggression of these songs does mark them as a little different from the standard Swedish Death Metal band and all-in-all this is firmly in their favour.

This is a very impressive little EP. Make sure you get your hands on this and support the underground.

Demonical – Black Flesh Redemption (Review)

Demonical are from Sweden and this is their latest EP. They play Death Metal.

I’ve always got time for a bit of Swedish Death Metal, and this latest EP by Demonical serves as a suitable ambassador of the style for anyone who’s unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with it.

That Swedish chainsaw presence is accounted for, as are the dark melodies and heavy grooves that so endear the style to so many.

Demonical do this proud sub-genre justice and these four songs are exemplars of the style.

The riffs are superb and everything is heavier than Hell. The drums crash like explosions and the vocals are so deeply satisfying it’s a joy to hear.

Each track here is very well-written and really hits the spot. Swedish Death Metal gets by on songs, rather than speed/brutality/extremity/technicality/etc. just for the sake of it, and these songs are tight, precise, very heavy and instantly appealing.

Swedish Death Metal has its detractors of course, and as such not everyone will be as gushing about this as me. The thing is though, even if you have had your fill of the style, I fail to see how this can’t relight the passion you must surely have felt at one point for it. I mean, deep down, everyone likes this kind of stuff really, I know they do. What’s not to like?

But I digress. I’ve not encountered Demonical before, but based on Black Flesh Redemption it seems like this has been a crying shame as this EP is really damn good.

At only 17 minutes in length and containing more quality Death Metal than most bands manage in twice that, this is an EP that you must add to your collection.

A firm essential purchase for all Swedish Death Metal fans. For all Death Metal fans, in fact.

Gian – All Life Erased (Review)

This is well-written Death Metal with some nice melodic streaks thrown in for good emphasis.

The band have gone for a song-oriented approach that is part Swedish Death Metal and part Modern Death Metal, not a million miles away from Illdisposed’s 1-800 Vindication in some ways; frequent infectious melodies with a firm heavy backbone to stop things from ever veering into Melodic Death Metal territory.

Gian frequently trade off crunchy, heavy riffs with melodic passages, all the time retaining an overall muscular presence.

The vocals are deep growls and angry shouts for the most part, but I must say that I was completely unprepared for clean vocals to appear on the second track Bloodstorm! They are performed extremely well and only appear on this song, but for a band who have a firm Death Metal sound with blast beats aplenty I was quite taken aback. Their scarcity works in their favour though, as when they do appear it’s just another aspect of the melodic delivery that appears among the brutal carnage that their music alternates between.

Gian have created a very enjoyable album that delivers something that’s an uncommon treat; songs that are equally brutal and melodic but without falling into the trap of losing their bite.

This is one to definitely check out.