Despite the fact that this Dutch quintet has been battering skulls for more than two decades, a 14-year absence between full-lengths makes it at least a little fair that perhaps Severe Torture isn’t at the top of your radar (ok, they gave us the delightfully titled Fisting the Sockets three-song EP in 2022, but still). If you’re unfamiliar, Severe Torture hail from the Suffocation school of chopping your head off and making sure the stump is really jagged. But, they also balance that choppiness with slick tremolo riffs that make it easier for the listener to lock in and bang their head should they wish to see if they can make that decapitation a self-inflicted injury.
Overall, Sever Torture does an excellent job of balancing technical prowess with songcraft that still provides hooks to keep the listener from being totally overwhelmed. Even essential elements like breakdowns are implemented in crafty ways. The opening track, “The Death Of Everything,” segues a slow, ugly riff into a huge open breakdown that Marvin Vriesde slices open with a brief lead. While you would typically take that soaring final note of a lead and either close out or fire off another high-energy riff, the band brings back the big breakdown to crush you one more time. The opening to “Hogtied In Rope” is essentially a breakdown stop-start pattern for the body of the song, with a gnarly guitar passage sweeping in and out of it. They balance that slower start with a creeping bouncy riff later on that sounds like the auditory equivalent of a giant armored spider skittering across a battlefield. Trust me, it makes sense if you listen to it.
Each track deftly balances the all-out assault against slower crushes in the same way. The title track opens with a riff you’ll want to windmill to, but it has just enough chop that you’ll have to add a little pattern to your spinning. A later passage has sustained guitar notes paired against a driving riff and downright violent drums, making the song feel massive and dramatic. That drama is then balanced against the opening of “Christ Immersion,” which comes in at full-tilt, wreckless abandon speeds.
Schreurs vocals and Vriesde’s leads also come across as refined. The growls here provide clarity that’s pretty rare in death metal, making it very easy for certain choruses throughout Torn From The Jaws Of Death to get stuck in your head. While he primarily stays in one mode, Schruer knows when to layer vocals, belch out a punctuation grunt or hit a note that sounds like someone stomped on his foot with a steel-toed boot at just the right time. Similarly, Vriesde’s lead work is generally brief and understated. He avoids relentless shredding or taking over the song, rather allowing for the extra weeping notes and fretboard jumps to provide a respite from the rhythmic assault of the rest of the track.
Like many of the elder statesmen of death metal, Severe Torture is a name that doesn’t leave you guessing about what you’re going to get, and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s nice to see that time needn’t dramatically change everything in life.
