Asphyx - Death...The Brutal Way
I'd like to get something out of the way before diving in to this review; I do not approve of this album's title, because it's stupid. Ok, let's move on.
When I was younger I could have cared less about Swedish Death Metal and was more focused on bands like Nile, Sepultura, and Napalm Death. These days I can't get enough of that sweet Swedish DM sound. I don't know what it is, but I love the whole death n' roll thing. It's badass.
I should let you know that Asphyx are actually Dutch, but their sound is SDM through and through.
I remember hearing a lot of buzz when this album came out in August, but I totally forgot about it until a few weeks ago. The main reason behind all the hype is that this is the first album since 1992's The Rack to feature Martin Van Drunen (who also fronts the band Hail of Bullets) on vocals. Van Drunen absolutley kills on this record, and has become one of my favorite SDM vocalists alongside Dismember's Matti Kärki and Death Breath's Scott Carlson.
Death...The Brutal Way is a total barn burner from beginning to end. The guitar tones are chunky, fuzzed-out, and down-tuned, and the riffs are simple yet undeniably brutal. My favorite thing about Asphyx is the way they blend elements of traditional Doom Metal into their songwriting; It's pretty obvious that these guys are Candlemass fans. The band is able to slow things down to an almost dead stop and once you're comfortable with that pace they swoop and bring things back to break-neck speed.
A lot of SDM albums can be tedious after a few songs, but Death...The Brutal Way doesn't fall victim to that problem. I'm bummed that I didn't grab this when it came out, but I feel like I'm making up for lost time by listening to it non-stop. If you like SDM there is no reason you won't love this album. It's killer, and will most definitely be on my year end list.
When I was younger I could have cared less about Swedish Death Metal and was more focused on bands like Nile, Sepultura, and Napalm Death. These days I can't get enough of that sweet Swedish DM sound. I don't know what it is, but I love the whole death n' roll thing. It's badass.
I should let you know that Asphyx are actually Dutch, but their sound is SDM through and through.
I remember hearing a lot of buzz when this album came out in August, but I totally forgot about it until a few weeks ago. The main reason behind all the hype is that this is the first album since 1992's The Rack to feature Martin Van Drunen (who also fronts the band Hail of Bullets) on vocals. Van Drunen absolutley kills on this record, and has become one of my favorite SDM vocalists alongside Dismember's Matti Kärki and Death Breath's Scott Carlson.
Death...The Brutal Way is a total barn burner from beginning to end. The guitar tones are chunky, fuzzed-out, and down-tuned, and the riffs are simple yet undeniably brutal. My favorite thing about Asphyx is the way they blend elements of traditional Doom Metal into their songwriting; It's pretty obvious that these guys are Candlemass fans. The band is able to slow things down to an almost dead stop and once you're comfortable with that pace they swoop and bring things back to break-neck speed.
A lot of SDM albums can be tedious after a few songs, but Death...The Brutal Way doesn't fall victim to that problem. I'm bummed that I didn't grab this when it came out, but I feel like I'm making up for lost time by listening to it non-stop. If you like SDM there is no reason you won't love this album. It's killer, and will most definitely be on my year end list.
xoxo
Beardo
Stay tuned for my Best of 2009 list coming up in a week or so.
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