An homage to the old school Death Metal bands in pure form. Blast beats for days. Harmonized guitars. Deep, growly vocals. While you can hear the influence from the founders of the HM-2 Death Metal sound in there, these songs are closer in sound to modern bands like Bloodbath or Entrails.
I wasn’t able to find any information on the artist listed for the cover, Valeria Foddanu. I’ll keep digging though, as I’m impressed with the work here. The main section has a woodcut print look to it, giving the album an old-school feel that ties in with the music perfectly. The layout was well executed as well. The logo placement, while a little oversized (I’d have pulled it back 5-10% and pushed it up just a little more), sits prominent and is easy to read. Using a frame around the artwork and then nesting the title at the bottom was also a great decision. It’s not fighting for legibility over the artwork.
If we take the entirety of the album; the title, the songs, the artwork, the opening non-musical track is a perfect introduction. If you’ve been reading my reviews or following me on socials for any amount of time you’ll know this isn’t a light statement, as I normally loathe the wasted track time that these kinds of things take up. Here it just works. It could also be that it’s not close to the length of a song.
When I write one of these full reviews where it’s not just a couple of sentences, my listening process is a little more involved as well. I listen to the album on my MacBook speakers, my component system, AirPods, and my full can over-the-ear headphones. I feel this is the only way to really hear the album and then speak on production quality. The production on this album allowed me to enjoy the listening experience no matter which of the above I was listening on.
Guitars come through clear. The low end is present, though it never takes center stage other than the opening of Cemeterial Death Worship. Vocals are seated at a perfect level, blending ever so slightly with the music but never sitting above, so you’re never fighting to hear the lyrics. The drumming didn’t have quite the punch I like to hear. Execution of the blast beats, galloping tempos, fills and more are not the issue here. They just sounded a little far away in the mix.
The Bottom Line
I’ve played this album over a dozen times now and with each listen I hear something I didn’t on the previous one. A touch of echo on a vocal line. A more prominent bass section. A riff that sends me back to my chiropractor. It’s albums that can do this that are a must-have addition to my physical collection… when is the next Bandcamp Friday?
