It may have taken five albums to get there, but Swedish crust sweethearts, Martyrdöd, have finally found their signature sound in ‘Elddop’ and it’s surprisingly mature and clean cut. Unlike previous album ‘Paranoia’ (their fourth full length and debut with Southern Lord) which tended to become messy in places and without direction, ‘Elddop’ is tighter and the production smoother, making for an overall much more well-rounded opus.
The idea that Martyrdöd may have succumbed to the charms of polished production quality may have fans running screaming, like a crust punk sprinting from soap and water. However, just because the band have cleaned up their sound a little does not mean they’ve lost any of the ferocious qualities that attracted fans to them in the first place. In fact, making everything a little less blurred brings into focus the true metallic qualities of the songs and tracks such as ‘Martyren’ have genuinely catchy melodies without forsaking any of the band’s trademark aggression.
Much like the rest of Martyrdöd’s back catalogue, this album moves at a breakneck speed and the 14 tracks clock in at around 45 minutes, so there’s a lot to get your head around. While this opus has a distinct air of melodeath about it, it’s still deeply entrenched in wicked sounding d-beat and the band prove that you can still remain loyal to your roots while expanding upon and experimenting with your sound. There are some truly epic riffs to be had on this album and the Swedes have proven it is possible to sand down your rough edges without losing any of your credibility. Fans of Nux Vomica’s self-titled 2014 release will seriously dig this.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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