Decomposed (Sweden) - Decomposed
I firmly abide by the Bloodbath motto of “brutality comes through simplicity,” but when it comes to the self-titled debut from Sweden’s Decomposed, things might be a little too simple. First off, bad band name. Nothing wrong with the word itself, in fact it’d make the perfect Death Metal moniker… if there weren’t already 438 bands using it! I had to hire Indiana Jones and the Cheaters team to find out which Decomposed this was. How bad is this band name? I thought this was the new Debauchery. I admit I am borderline Downs, but it still caused a brain fart and those two words aren’t even close. Clearly it’s a cursed name (just ask the other 438 unnoticed Decomposeds), but enough about it, on to the music itself. Honestly, I wish there were more to talk about. It’s primal, it’s raw, it’s simple, it’s decent, and it couldn’t be more Old School. How Old School is it? During the verses to opener “Stench of Death,” I was constantly expecting the next words grunted out of Jesper Ekstal’s mouth to be, “Necrocannibal eats dead cunt.” I know what you’re thinking. Slaughter’s “Death Dealer,” where’s the beef? Well, I was also waiting for “Necrocannibal eats dead cunt” during “Engulfed in Darkness” …and on “Macabre Vision” …and on “Ceremonial —wait for it…— Slaughter.” Long story short: turns out it’s one of only a few tricks this dog knows. To their credit, they do surround the Strappado love with some truly headbangable, basic-but-effective Swedeath riffage. I like their energy, their grit, their filth-purity, and the vibes they conjure up literally effortlessly (see the morbidly Doomy feel of “Ethereal Landscapes”), but music this no-frills has to be catchier, more anthemic than what’s on display here. This is enjoyable, but too easily it fades into background noise, not begging loudly enough for repeated listens. A better production —not necessarily cleaner, but bigger/louder— might’ve helped. The vocals in particular could use a little work. In summary: not bad, not great, but certainly not without future poTENtial. I’ll go out on a limb and say they’re the best Decomposed yet.
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