This band has Allen West on guitar, looking rather old from the images I’ve seen recently. You all know him, the guy who played in Obituary and Six feet Under for a while. I have absolutely no doubt that Allen can play guitar, my problems lie with the fact that every act he plays in tries to sound Obituary for the most part and Six Feet Under for the other part. In fact I’d say this is so close to Obituary at times it could have been released as an Obituary outtakes album, which I know is hyper critical but why bother listening to this if it’s no better than Obituary or SFU for that matter which it is not.

Obsessed with serial killers, horror movies and all other bottom feeding subject material infected within death metal, Southwicked’s album begins with the film sample of Horace Pinker in the Wes Craven movie “Shocker” right before he is executed in the electric chair. A good scene setter for a dull album overall unfortunately (I would have preferred to watch the film) the music rarely gets beyond the more upbeat Obituary speed. The title track gets the album firmly but slowly underway as the production is actually something positive here. It’s dense, thudding and possesses a good all round mix with plenty of power. The vocals are also decent being gutturally low but clear to understand. Initially the title track offered a glimmer of hope of something different only to be dashed when the riff change comes in. I couldn’t help thinking I was listening to the same song eight times after the intro and whilst no song is in any way poorly played or plain crap, it just bored the shit out of me. Normally I have plenty to say but when an album is steeped in mediocrity I can only convey mediocre adjectives to describe it. I can’t even pick out a tune that I really liked above and beyond the rest of them.

What else can I say, this is well played true death metal, but is just so similar to Obituary that the comparison can’t be ignored and even if Allen West wasn’t in this band you have to do something different or your act will flounder in death metal dullness for all of eternity which sadly this does.

(5/10 Martin Harris) 

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