Lay Down Rotten - Mask of Malice
Few Death Metal bands have gotten more love from me over the last decade than Germany’s Lay Down Rotten. They first caught my ear in late 2003 with their classic Paralyzed by Fear debut and have been flattening me ever since. The list of Death Metal albums that might have topped Reconquering the Pit in 2007, or the star-studded Gospel of the Wretched in 2009, is very short. As rotten as Ribspreader, as consistent as Bolt Thrower, as stubborn as Asphyx, and often yielding the melodic genius of Edge of Sanity, these guys are among simplistic brutality’s elite. All that said, I can pull no punches… clearly Mask of Malice was phoned in. There’s no other way to put it. I’ve given it months of spinning and about a dozen last chances, only to keep arriving at the same conclusion. This is unequivocally inferior to past works. There’s certainly nothing wrong with Jost Kleinert’s vocals. One of the smoothest bestial growls in the business, not to mention criminally underrated. The production is immaculate and it’s not like the music is terrible… it’s just a boring record. It’s a series of underwhelming riffs at varying monotonous paces that lends itself to a going-through-the-motions feel. For me, only two cuts stand out. “Swallow the Bitterness” and “The Devil Grins” are premium Lay Down Rotten anthems —fast to mid tempo, loaded with barbaric groove, desolate melodies, and brutal hooks— sadly treading water in a sea of filler. Hey, even the best Death Metal bands are entitled to lay an egg once in a while. Musicians are human and playing in a band can be taxing, especially when your labor of love isn’t paying all the bills. And while it doesn’t quite seem like their hearts were in it this time, I’m not ready to write them off just yet. I accept Mask of Malice for the anomaly that it is. A significantly less awesome album from a genuinely awesome band.
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