Ignivomous- Contragenesis(2012)

Ignivomous- Contragenesis

Australia based Ignivomous moniker translates quite fittingly to "vomiting fire," the exact thing that the band are doing on their sophomore album Contragenesis: shooting fire and sulfur from their mouths with scorching demonic wrath.  Easily one of the most sonically devastating albums of 2012, Contragenesis song writing is a strange mix of old-school sensibility and aesthetic that features a modern, warp speed presentation.  Contragenesis borders on exhausting, and it's relentless nature gives Ignivomous a bit of identity that the bands debut, Incantation-and-Incantation styled Death Transmutation, an album which did not lack for brutality either but also felt far too appropriate and digestible.

Ignivomous still evoke the Old New York Gods of Incantation and Immolation in their brand of merciless Death Metal: occult themed sermons, loaded with plenty of intense tremolo picked riffs and explosive bursts of eery dissonance coupled with odd time-signatures.  In this way, Contragenesis feels familiar and even a bit worn out: the whole Incantation-worship thing has been going on for seven years now and it's no longer all that interesting.  It felt like Death Transmutation 2.0, without any kind of artistic progression or fresh approaches to old ideas.  Contragenesis left a bad impression with me through a single listen, and it took me a bit of time to come back to it.

And I am glad that I did, because repeated listens begin to part the ancient fog and expose a sense of personal artistic direction missing from many Old School Revival acts.  Contragenesis brings a healthy dose of sheer brutality to their style which helps it stand a part from the dime-a-dozen worship albums.  No, I am not talking about breakdowns or chugs: Ignivomous keep everything decidedly old-school throughout.  But in the vein of an early Deeds of Flesh or Gorgasm(or Angelcorpse, for those of you who could not possibly handle the comparison), Contragenesis is fucking fast and driven almost completely by the blast-beat.  Both Incantation and Immolation had time for Doom-laden introspection, but Ignivomous are not interested in such silly concepts for much of Contragenesis, seeking instead to hammer points home in a flurry of riffs so thick you cannot see more than a foot in front of you.  Not every track is completely relentless: "Monumental Cosmic Transgression" and the finale "The Final Cadence of Bloodshed" slow things down a bit, for a few moments anyway before the torrent commences with violent furry.  Despite the occult themes, Contragenesis is not much for ambiance and ritual; it would rather just gut the listener and smash the parts that fall out with a hammer while screaming about Satan.  This might seem like a detraction, but it really is a major selling point for this album; it gives Contragenesis it's own identity.

Identity is great, and Contragenesis stands as one of the better Old School Death Metal Revival albums of the year, if not the best in a bad year for Death Metal(so far).  But identity does not a masterpiece make: Contragenesis is still largely recycling ideas from bands who came before them, and not every track feels like a masterpiece.  The previously mentioned "The Final Cadence of Bloodshed" does feature some of the albums slower and more atmospheric(intended anyway) compositions, but it is also the weakest link on the tracklist: ponderous, evoking old ghosts of Obituary and Master, and not really in line with the rest of the album.  Vocalist Jael Edwards is a decent Ross Dolan-imitator, but he mostly is just there and grunting dutifully.  I also would not describe Contragenesis is ultra-tight: some of the riffs here are damn complex, but there is also a sense of swirling chaos that at times feels out of control: about half way through "Seventh Seal Gnosis," the transitions become awkward because of the speed, and the drums seem to fall behind.  These moments are neither common nor game breakers, and certainly gives Contragenesis a sense of rawness, but bare mentioning none the less.

I still can't find a ton of fault with Contragenesis.  In fact, I have some pretty high praises for it.  At least Ignivomous are trying to bring their own ideas and artistic expressions to their music, as so many of their peers are more than willing to suckle at the tit of their idols and rehash their songs in generally inferior ways.  I would like to see Contragenesis as a sign of things to come from the band, a band hopefully ready to spread it's black wings and bring a pestilence of it's own nefarious design.

Rating: 8/10

First Aid Kit- The Lions Roar(2012)

First Aid Kit- The Lion's Roar

First Aid Kit are Klara and Johanna Söderberg, a pair of genetically engineered super-clone-musicians created by Sweden in some convoluted, super-villain scheme to slowly take over the worlds Folk music scene from the inside, leaving nothing but biologically superior, soulless monsters in their wake.  This is the only way I have been able to explain the sickening perfection of The Lions Roar: it's sheer perfectness, in both songwriting and performance, leaves no doubts that this pair of Swedish Sirens strumming out thoughtful, catchy Americana must be part some sort of nefarious plot.  I just do not think it possible of a normal human with normal abilities to produce something so god damn flawless in so many ways... The Lion's Roar is as frightening as it is beautiful.

The Lion's Roar is nothing if not precise and effortless: the Söderberg sisters have effectively melded the sounds of classic 60's Folk of Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel and Joan Baez with the more modern, Indie Rock/Pop influenced Alt-Country of Jenny Lewis and later Neko Case into ten tracks of total musical perfection.  Not a single note is ever found out of a place, a single hook left unused or a single melody left unfinished: methodical yes, but just organic enough to feel real.  Which makes The Lion's Roar all that more deadly and utterly addicting.  I've spun The Lion's Roar two dozen times since I bought it, and still I return to it for it's infectious hooks, beautiful instrumentation and textbook Folk/Pop compositions: like musical Crack, I'm ready to break out a car window for a fix.

And then there are the vocals.

There are no doubts about it: the Söderberg sisters have two of the best voices you will ever hear, as well as absolutely stunning harmonies(which goes a long way to reinforcing my "genetically engineered super-clone" theory).  It's... well, it's scary.  In modern music, there are two kinds of "perfect": the perfect that comes from a studio(pretty much everything) and the real, tangible perfect, and the Söderberg sisters fit nicely into the latter category: the production does only enough for their voices to soar above the compositions like the healing songs of Angels.  Again, sickeningly perfect.

The Söderberg sisters deftly move around various sub-genres, giving The Lion's Roar a sort of grab-bag feel.  The title track is bombastic, rhythmically explosive combination of Folk Rock and Alt-Country, featuring gorgeously layered compositions that revel's in the variety of instruments while staying largely conformed to accessible song structure, which in the case of this particular genre is once again perfect.  "Emmylou" is easily the song of the year: the song spreads like a particularly virulent contagion within your hapless skull, sounding like Simon and Garfunkel on a trip through the country with Emmylou Harris(no doubt she was a major influence on the band).  Meanwhile, tracks like "Blue" and the finale "King of the World" feel decidedly more modern, drawing heavy influence from Jenny Lewis, Emmy the Great and Bright Eyes: it shouldn't be a surprise that Conor Oberst does a guest vocal spot on "King of the World," a jaunty, Pop-infused slice of Bluegrass meets Indie Rock, completely with another shockingly catchy chorus that will burrow into your brain-stem like a parasite and refuse to leave.

So we have established that The Lion's Roar is perfect, in almost every way, and that it is a musical equivalent to brutal drug addiction.  It's basically a moderately effective substitute for sex: Album of the Year, case closed right?

No.  Truth is, The Lion's Roar is a victim of it's own perfection.

The very best Folk albums of the previous decade: Our Endless Numbered Days, The Wild Hunt EP, For Emma, Forever Ago, all possessed a uniquely unpolished, raw emotional energy to them, energy that can only come from a strong understanding of the human condition.  By comparison, The Lion's Roar is a little on the sterile side: not plastic, just devoid of intensity.  Folk music are stories about imperfect people, and that super-clone like flawlessness of The Lion's Roar is and odd dynamic.

I'm ok with this: The Lion's Roar is incredible for what it is, and without a doubt the most listenable album of 2012.  It's forty-two minutes of perfection, and that is something you so rarely hear.  It just happens to be the wrong genre for this level of inhuman efficiency.  The Lion's Roar sounds like it was made by musical versions of Captain America, not a regular, unspectacular person with a story to tell.

Rating: 8/10

The Curse Weekly Playlist: Insert Theme Here

Cause I got nothin...

Track list:

1. Glossolalia- "Chains": Raw Atmospheric Black Metal from The United States.  Off the compilation Gold In The Throat(2010)

2. StarGazer- "Pale Brethren": Technical Progressive Death Metal from Australia.  Off the LP The Scream That Tore The Sky(2005)

3. Male Misandria- "Somni Specus": Blackened Grindcore from Italy.  Off the LP E.DIN(2011)

4. In Disgust- "Industrial Ghetto": Powerviolence from The United States.  Off the compilation San Jose Oldies, Vol. 1(2009)

5. Iconoclast Contra- "Wolf Sect: Profane": Black/Death/Powerviolence from The United States.  Off the LP Combat is the Voice of the Heathen(2011)

6. Disembodied- "Bloodshed Rain": Metalcore from The United States.  Off the EP If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead(2003)

7. Wylve- "Vestiges": Raw Black Metal from The United States.  Off the demo Wylve(2012)

8. Deadstare- "Fetch the Baltak": Powerviolence from Austrailia.  Off the compilation Discography(2001)

9. Pek- "Funeral Orations For The Detoriated Corpse Of A Mental Deficient God": Black/Death from Belgium.  Off the LP Preaching Evil(2008)

10. Cultes Des Ghoules- "The Covenant and the Sacrifice": Raw Black Metal from Poland.  Off the LP Haxan(2008)

Pseudogod- Deathwomb Catechesis(2012)

 

 Pseudogod- Deathwomb Catechesis

A whirlwind of bloody debris and noxious sulfur, Deathwomb Catechesis is nothing if not sonically pulverizing.  These Russians have been building a head full of steam over the last few years with their various splits and demos, and the bands long awaited full-length debut had a lot of hype behind it.  Hype that I am not sure Deathwomb Catechesis completely meets, although the final product is perfectly competent, listenable and horrifyingly brutal... not any easy triumvirate to maintain over the course of an entire album.  Yet Pseudogod accomplish it beautifully on Deathwomb Catechesis by never forgetting their final goal: collecting enough skull-fracturing riffs to de-brain anyone who listens to it.

While the bands previous material hinted towards a very Teitanblood-like direction for Pseudogod, Deathwomb Catechesis bucks the trend so to speak.  Sure, Teitanblood and Bestial Black Metal acts like Blasphemy and Conqueror remain strong influences in Pseudogod's war machine, but it's impossible to not hear the blistering, sub-human percussive assault Angelcorpse or the slithering, twisted guitar work of Morbid Angel all over this release.  This strong Morbid/Angel/corpse vibe threw me off at first to be truthful, and was not entirely what I expected. I figured Deathwomb Catechesis would be the next Seven Chalices; twisted, discordant, inhumanly chaotic if not always tight and uniform.  What we got instead was a well controlled, tight, fast genocide machine, spewing lots of black smoke but moving with an easy purpose across the torched landscape.  Which at first felt largely unsatisfying, since desired revolution ended up being replaced with regression and a stale air of "been there, heard this."

But Deathwomb Catechesis is the kind of album that can beat down even the thickest of inner walls and reach the gooey, Metal loving insides of any increasingly cynical fan.  It's... just got riffs.  Lots of them, and most of them are fucking intense.  "Malignant Spears" rips off a half dozen blistering Trey Azagthoth-style riffs in mere minutes, only slowing down slightly to bang heads and break spines before the unholy storm of guitar madness breaches again into the mortal world, swirling with souls.  "Azazel" offers some slight variation in the form of some demented choral vocal arrangements, but it still feels like a long lost Order From Chaos track returned to the inglorious light of the Sun: blackened, hell-bent on speed and relentless in it's hunt for the holy flesh of Angels.  Deathwomb Catechesis is not the ritualistic enchantment I expected, but rather the full on invasion of Hell on Earth.

Deathwomb Catechesis is not the genre-defining masterpiece I wanted, and I admit it still bothers me: for all of its strengths, the album remains largely cut and dry, with each track providing similar charms and the inescapable sense of déjà vu which dominates it's thick atmosphere.  It's hard to argue with the final product though.  Deathwomb Catechesis is truly an album which fits the "poser-disposer" category... yet thankfully avoids the "idiotic, bland genre worship" category.

Rating: 8/10

The Curse Weekly Playlist: Bestial Barrage

I was a little late on last weeks playlist, so this week I thought I would be early.  I was inspired to make this playlist because of an awesomely idiotic thing that happened at The Extreme Music Forum(if you have a last.fm account, join up), in which this happened: Bestial Brostep(Dubstep).  The following are the masterpieces(derp) left in the wake of this stimulating, intellectual conversation:

Broclamation - Advent of the Bass Drop

Teitanbro - Seven Drops

Bro Witchery - Upheaval of Satanic Wubs

Brosphemy - Gods of Wub

Archbro - Wub of Brolehem

Brosphemophager- Nuclear Bropire of Wubacolypse

Bestial Brolust- Drops & Wubs

Mobrosidad – Morbrosidad

Sabromator - Goatwobble Panspermia

Broherit - Dropping Down the Bass

Anal Wubsphemy - Brostial Black Metal Wubs

Conquerbro - Wub Cult Supremacy

Pseudobro- Deathwub Broechesis

Satan, Napalm, Brostep

1. Pseudogod- "Malignant Spears" : Bestial Black/Death from Russia.  Off the LP Deathwomb Catechesis(2012)

2. Bahimiron- "The Abattior Inferno" : Raw Bestial Black Metal from The United States.  Off the LP Rebels Hymns of Left Handed Terror(2011)

3. The Haunting Presence- "Obscurity Realms(Ritual of Conscious Destruction)" : Raw Bestial Black Metal from The United States.  Off the demo the haunting presence(2011)

4. Blasphemophager- "Altar of Quantum Immortality" : Bestial Black Metal from Italy.  Off the LP …For Chaos, Obscurity and Desolation…(2010)

5. Manticore- "Unveiling the Ascension" : Bestial Black/Death from The United States.  Off the LP For Rats and Plague(2006)

6. The Beast of the Apocalypse- "I Am Not Worthy To Utter Thy Name" : Progressive Bestial Black Metal from the Netherlands.  Off the LP Henosis(2011)

7. Goatpenis- "FROG-7 Missles" : Bestial Black/Death from Brazil.  Off the LP Depleted Ammunition(2011)

8. Truppensturm- "NecroEucharist" : Bestial Black Metal from Germany.  Off the LP Salute to the Iron Emperors(2010)

9. Anal Blasphemy- "Night of Inversion" " Raw Bestial Black Metal from Finland.  Off the LP Profane Fornication Ejaculation(2010)

10. Impious Baptism- "Path of the Inverted Trinity" : Bestial Black Thrash from Australia.  Off the EP Path of the Inverted Trinity(2012)

Sutekh Hexen - Larvae (2012)

Sutekh Hexen - Larvae

Now, I'm a fan of Sutekh Hexen. I like all of their previous releases. If you listened to them, you would know that they're pretty much noisy black metal riffs and...noise. But the previous releases were somewhat harsh and actually had some black metal in them; you could hear the black rasps and drums and whatnot, but this time, it’s much more subtle, transendental, melancholic. Now of course it has plenty of black metal and noise, but it’s less obvious here, since it’s all a haze of noise to the “unexperienced” ear.

The first track, “Isvar Savasana,” is a track composed of poignant synths, noisy drones, and remote guitar notes in the background. The distorted vocals build up along with the guitar sounds until it all crashes into a void of black noise. This is also a proof that production helps noise artists as well: if it was shitty on this track, this would end up as a wall of ugly noise that does nothing but random clamor. Instead, you have a dynamic arena of demonic vocals, drums and riffs, walls of blissful static, and other black noise paraphernalia. This sense is what helps the record from failing into an ugly salad of random noise.

The second track, “Lead Us in Warfare,” also the shortest one, opens with a doom-like riff and noise, and then aptly changes into a martial rhythm with high distorted vocals and crushing bass. The track plods in a lugubrious pace and creates the sense of a battlefield. The combination of the vocals and bass here sounds like some broken military equipment while its surroundings are being bombarded into oblivion. The vocals fade out, and the bass lingers on some more. Felicitous primordial audio-terror.

The third and final track, “Let There Be Light,” is the zenith. Dolorous and mournful, it brings forth stark and grim walls of bleak winters. At first, the track evokes a sense of an eternal and frostbitten winter, with forlorn chants and howls, until it breaks into flaring riffs accompanied with noise that slowly include a void-like guitar riff. It clearly shows that Sutekh Hexen knows its black noise and how to aptly deal with juxtaposed black metal and noise.

Larvae is an interesting album, to say the least. It’s a meditation in chaos, with many ideas and layers, that most of them have been executed well enough. Naturally, it has some flaws: some points aren’t clear enough, other ones aren’t engaging enough, many parts with generic studio pitch corrections, not enough awe-inspiring moments, and the likes. But if you like black noise, experimentation, or just need something new in your black metal, you should most definitely give this album a shot.

Rating: 8.5/10

Undergang- Til Døden os Skiller(2012)

Undergang- Til Døden os Skiller

Til Døden os Skiller, the follow up to the incredibly brilliant Indhentet Af Døden, had it's work cut out for it. Indhentet Af Døden was basically perfect: a brilliant mix of Rottrevore's slimey, gut-chewing down tempo madness and the unhinged strangeness of Finnish masters such as Depravity and Demilich; played with incredible energy and featuring some of the best Death Metal production one could ask for. Til Døden os Skiller was fighting an uphill battle from the beginning.

And it lost.

Til Døden os Skiller just doesn't stack up to Indhentet Af Døden in, well, any real way. It's a far more subdued, straightforward effort with a somewhat slicker production that while still energetic and heavier than sin, doesn't feel like the labor of love and violence that Indhentet Af Døden did.  It's always controversial to compare a bands previous work to their newest material, and often even a bit unfair.  But when a band is sticking to a similar style from album to album, it's impossible to not compare a bands albums to each other. But this doesn't make Til Døden os Skiller a bad record at all: Undergang simply cannot make a bad record, as their sound is just too brutal and too massive to ever be boring.  It's just disappointing to hear a band regress and become more digestible and safe.

The first thing that stands out about Til Døden os Skiller is how much more subdued the song-writing is: while much of the Rottrevore-meets-Asphyx heaviness remains in tact, songs follow much simpler paths and rarely engage in the odd, creepy sounding progressions that made Indhentet Af Døden such a powerful release.  It's still insanely heavy, and at times groovy: "Ormeorgie" is a headbangers paradise, featuring a dozen skull-smashing riffs and plenty of Doom-laden goodness.  The following track, "Når Børnene Dør" starts weakly with a poor sample(an issue which appears constantly on the album), but once the song gets going it's all very musty and death-laden.  Til Døden os Skiller feels like a slightly faster album than Indhentet Af Døden did, with more moments of blast-beat domination, but don't expect Undergang to enter Angelcorpse territory; things stay slow and mid-paced throughout, but the diversity of tempo is always a nice thing.  Vocalist David Torturdod remains consistently underwhelming though: his weak growl sounds gassed and is usually lost in the shuffle, although his higher-register vocal sounds powerful and dripping.  It's a shame he doesn't use it more often.

As I said before, Undergang in their current incarnation are likely incapable of releasing anything that isn't appealing to most Death Metal fans, as there just are not a lot of primitive, Rottrevore inspired bands floating around.  Til Døden os Skiller is perfectly listenable, enjoyable, and at times even a bit dynamic.  But those moments of "what the fuck am I listening to?" that dominated Indhentet Af Døden , those moments when the band would break out in a Suffocation style breakdown like on "Dødshymne" or the odd, bouncy and almost happy intro of "Evigt Lidende," are just not to be found here.  Undergang have taken a much more accessible, simplistic approach to songwriting on Til Døden os Skiller, and it shows in a somewhat inferior album.  And album I would still recommend, but not the one I was hoping for.

Rating: 7.5/10

Male Misandria- E.DIN(2011)

Male Misandria- E.DIN

Italy's Male Misandria play a style of Blackened Grindcore that isn't too far from Anaal Nathrakh's noisy, screaming nightmares, with the same tortured vocals and tendency to explore the abnormal. But I can easily say I vastly prefer the more stripped down, Punk infused edge that Male Misandria bring; with influences of Powerviolence and Crust Punk, E.DIN is a focused, strange and skin-peeling Blackened Grindcore that brims with filthy anger.

I don't want to play up the Anaal Nathrakh comparison too much: there are similarities, but not overwhelmingly so: Male Misandria are more firmly rooted to the ground and wield a Punk-infused edge. It's all very fast and loud, which means everything is working as it should be.  Tracks are short and noisey, yet often include sudden bits of atmospheric, grim introspection: "Homo Homini Homo" starts off with some mid-paced, frost bitten guitar work that screams Emperor, complete with a smattering of operatic vocals, before mutating into a static drenched, dripping syringe of blasting Grindcore/Powerviolence that enters the blood-stream like burning fire.  "Somni Spectus" features one of the sexiest, filthiest riffs on the album, the opening roar of the guitars complimented with excellent use of samples to create a sickening, blackened atmosphere without ever losing it's aggressive, crusty edge.  E.DIN also features some rather odd song titles, including such classics as "I'm So Cook" and "Vomitsoapbubbles..."  Male Misandria are clearly not all that interested in sticking too closely to genre conventions, which in many ways is a strength all it's own.

E.DIN may be an acquired taste for many no matter what: vocalist S.P. has a voice which will grate on your average Metal fan, while the bands blackened, space-y aspects will likely turn off the Punk kids from getting all the way behind the bands sledge-hammer moments.  And in general, E.DIN is the kind of spastic, genre-bending strangeness that purists in general just despise.  But then again, who cares what purists think.  E.DIN is as rock solid, brutal and manic as one could ask from a  whacked out Italian Black-Grind band.

Rating: 8/10

The Curse Weekly Playlist: Old School Death Metal Revival That Doesn't Suck

Based on some of the review scores here, one would think I despise Old School Death Metal.  Thing is, I don't: I just dislike more than half of it.  I've said so before, but it bares mentioning again: as far as I am concerned, Death Metal didn't exist until New York and Finland started making it in the early 90's.  The early Floridian and Swedish scenes, the birth places of Death Metal, will always be... well, shit.  At least for me: bands like Master, Entombed, Obituary, Dismember hold absolutely no appeal for me in even the slightest.  Truth is, I can't even sit through a song without getting bored to tears and throwing on Onward to Golgotha.

But this doesn't mean I hate Old School Death Metal, or it's recent revival.  For every shitty SwedDeath worship band, there is usually one band doing something awesome.  In honor of these bands, my weekly playlist will consist of Old School Death Metal Revival bands that do not actually suck.  Learn to respect, Miasmal's of the world:

Old School Is Not The Only School, But Failure To Show Up For Class Will Result In Disembowelment.

Track List:

1. Innumerable Forms- "Contaminated" : Death Metal from The United States.  Off the demo Dark Worship(2010).  Similar Artists: Incantation, Morpheus Descends, Killing Addiction

2. Adversarial- "Thralls" : Black/Death Metal from Canada.  Off the LP All Idols Fall Before the Hammer(2010).  Similar Artists: Angelcorpse, Blasphemy, Incantation

3. Desecresy- "Path of the Descendent" : Death/Doom from Finland.  Off the LP Arches of Entropy(2010).  Similar Artists: Rippikolu, Slughathor, Krypts

4. Execration- "Soul Maggot" : Death Metal from Norway.  Off the LP Odes of the Occult(2011).  Similar Artists: Immolation, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx

5. Vahrzaw- "Revelations" : Black/Death from Australia.  Off the LP Defiant(2009).  Similar Artists: Immolation, Incantation, Angelcorpse

6. Spearhead- "Herald the Lightning" : Black/Death from England.  Off the LP Theomachina(2011).  Similar Artists: Angelcorpse, Morbid Angel, Order From Chaos

7. Morbid Flesh- "Reborn in Death" : Death Metal from Spain.  Off the LP Reborn in Death(2011).  Similar Artists: Autopsy, Grave, Death(early)

8. Putrevore- "The Skies Vomit Sulfur" : Primitive Death Metal from Spain.  Off the LP Morphed From Deadbreath(2008).  Similar Artists: Rottrevore, Morpheus Descends, Infester

9. Nerlich- "Entity of Sickness" : Old School Technical Death Metal from Finland.  Off the LP Defabricated Process(2007).  Similar Artists: Martyr, Oppressor, Suffocation

10. Dead Congregation- "Teeth Into Red" : Death Metal from Greece.  Off the LP Grave of the Archangels(2009).  Similar Artists: Incantation, Immolation, Deathspell Omega

Acephalix- Deathless Master(2012)

Acephalix- Deathless Master

San Fransisco based Acephalix could not have a more massive hype machine.  It's basically been impossible to escape the enthusiasm for the 4-pieces new record Deathless Master, which has the former Crust Punk act transforming into the new, hot commodity in Swedish Death Metal Worsh-... I mean Revival.

Yeah, you can all see where this is going.

Deathless Master certainly delivers on all fronts, at least for those seeking only the most worship-y Entombed and Grave worship.  Nothing is out of place, nothing is new or challenging and nothing will ever make you question Acephalix's loyalty to Sunlight Studios guitar sounds or true old-school credibility.  Deathless Master has a singular purpose, and commits to it with plenty of verve and vigor.  Everything is genre appropriate, from the album cover, song titles and lyrics to the song-writing, which effectively captures the essence of the heavily melodic, simplistic and musty Swedish Death Metal sound to total carbon-copy perfection.  Acephalix perform each track masterfully, at the very least never sounding sloppy or overwhelmed, while vocalist Dan(that's it) is a capable growler in his own right, providing a solid low grunt which predictably accompanies each economical, effortless track.  Truly, Deathless Master is a machine with plenty of hellish fuel to power it's journey into the crypts.

And FUCK is it boring.

And album like Deathless Master has becoming increasingly common in Death Metal: all soulless style, no substance.  Acephalix steal their riffs from Left Hand Path with mechanical precision, and play them with a kind of blandness that can make one slip into a deep sleep at a moments notice.  Fearfully constructed to appeal to the masses, Deathless Master is the kind of highly accessible dribble hidden under a reverb drenched production that is over-running Death Metal as we speak.  There are quite literally only two moments, not songs but moments, where Deathless Master ever carries any weight or intensity: the opening riffs of "... On Wings" and "The Hunger" bring much needed evil to an album which for the most part is merely highly digestible junk food.

On it's surface, there is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of an accessible, for lack of a better phrase, "Pop" Death Metal album.  And the Swedish Death Metal sound has always been the most accessible Death Metal sound, so there really should be no surprise that Deathless Master is a largely easy listen.  It all comes down to personal taste really, and for this particular listener, Deathless Master is little more than lifeless static in a sea of soulless static peddlers; a piece of worship with no real faith backing it, other than faith in it's own popularity.  Deathless Master was always going to be a success by virtue of what it is, regardless of the quality: it's Death Metal on Easy Mode.

Deathless Master is just one more example of a Death Metal scene which has become increasingly toxic to things like creativity and originality.  Calls of "it wasn't broken, why fix it?" and "this is REAL Death Metal" fill the air, and power an album like Deathless Master to new heights, sure to be highly featured on many year end lists as one of the best albums of 2012: genetically engineered for hype and mass appeal.  Which again, is not really a bad thing... unless it begins to overwhelm a genre's artistic credibility.  With Death Metal becoming so hostile to artists who endeavor to be original and put serious work into their song-craft, an album like Deathless Master could very well be a death knell for the genre itself; one that is becoming increasingly self-contained and regressive.

Which puts pretty massive weight behind an album as slight and generally forgettable as Deathless Master doesn't it?

Rating: 3/10