Spain’s premier pan-Scandinavian death metallers return with this EP, a continuation of their rotting blend of gnarly Swedish buzz and morbid Finnish atmosphere, and all to the usual results: Very respectable, highly enjoyable, not at all original, and filled to the brim with the best kind of simple riffs, straightforward bashing, eerie melody, and cavernous oozing vibe. Recorded to celebrate the band’s 10th anniversary, and clearly harking back to their 2008 debut EP Into The Mausoleum, Back To The Mausoleum was written and rehearsed in the same garage in which the band began back then…
While this latest trip to the mausoleum certainly achieves its goal of invoking the first go-’round, Back To The Mausoleum trumps its elder brother in two distinct categories — one, the production is better, although still appropriately dank and fetid, and two, though still alcohol-fueled, the performances are tighter, the band simply matured and more skilled at their craft, now a decade later. Any fans of classic straight-up death metal should already be acquainted with this Graveyard, and those that are can attest to the band’s penchant for quality, dating all the way back to that first EP, so it’s no surprise that Back To The Mausoleum shows these Spaniards in fine form still.
Something here is still rotten, but now a decade later, it’s just that much rotten-er, and we’re all the better for it. Dig it up; dig in; and get to rotting.
