It’s Bloodbath, which means a certain homage will be paid to your Death Metal heroes while getting all the advantages that modern recording techniques can deliver. If you are me, that means you are going to be happy with just about anything this assemblage creates. And sure enough, I am me and I am happy.
If you are looking for me to shit on OR kiss up to Akerfeldt you can stop. He was a damned fine singer/guitarist for this band, but the record is the thing. I loved Resurrection through Carnage as it was, period. But Peter Tägtgren fills his shoes perfectly, giving the group a ripping little screamish, almost black metalish….well, shit you have all heard Hypocrisy at its best. You know what he sounds like.
Swano assumes guitar duties leaving the kit for Martin Axenrot to massacre. The result is a less “sunsound” record and a bit more variance in the tempos. But the general idea of creating purified Death Metal comprised of killer songwriting and faultless performances remains intact. The groove is still right there, just spiced with a little blasting now and then.
As for the songs, they range from good to memorable to classic, just as before. Some of the novelty should have worn off with this release, but the changeup in lineup seems to have stretched the songwriting as well, so instead of Re-Resurrected through Carnage II you get a stand alone record with just enough of the RTC style to tie it in with the last record. One of my favorite tracks, “Year of the Cadaver Race”, starts with one of the coolest non symmetrical riffs in a while, and just flings energy and chaos around like Satan on crank for the next four and a half minutes, crushing and then decimating all in its path.
Seriously, as with the last Bloodbath record, you would be hard pressed to find a better choice for your collection. It helps to be old school, but you don’t HAVE to be. This is just pure death metal in the very best sense of term. Not a mere repeat of earlier efforts, this a compliment to the Bloodbath catalog and a damned good record at all points. So buy it.
