First introduced to me in 2012 via the debut “My Empire” it captured the very essence of death metal and I mean death metal as a whole, not old school, not Swedeath (though I did reference that in my review of the album for Ave Noctum back then) not US death metal etc but the bands approach to writing death metal as it should be without resorting to technical run outs for fear of being too safe. I am damn pleased that “Kingdom Of Worms” continues where the debut left off and if anything the band has become even catchier yet equally brutal.
After the obligatory intro “Forging Delusions” beats the listener with an awesome riff and accompanying double bass that will have that concrete skull of yours banging in unison. It works perfectly and I admit to being a total sucker for the style as the tune is interrupted by scathing blasts but fortified by the riffing and bass kicks. I compared this band to a lot of acts in my review of the debut and I still stand by those but here after a couple more years of experience you see their own identity being fabricated. “Call Me Your God” still has that God Dethroned sense of dynamics and that is a massive compliment as that band was unique as well. The guitar sound is pernicious, violent but controlled and harnessed by the riffing as the undercarriage of bass and drums drive the tune along. The subtle guitar hooks are excellent, adding texture and deftness to this song and elsewhere too as “Wrath On Your Wound” has more scything riffing but with a blasting piece added this time.
Vocally this has traits of Nergal, that deep reverberant and virtually demonic tone they sound brilliant and work perfectly. “With Might And Main” is almost sleazy, slow and drenched guttural riffing the beat is hammered out like a subversive message and whilst the tune isn’t fast it is oppressively dense and massively opaque making it a bruising encounter before “Shattering Soil” lives up to its name but initially is slow, with a very melodic riff that feels very familiar before being obliterated by a seismic blast of snare. The plunging time change is like standing at the edge of a building wondering if you’ll about to fall off before being pulled back into the blast once again. “Mortal Reign” has a definite Kataklysm ring to it and really is a groove fest as hook after hook assail you in torrents of brutal mauling.
Once again this release has been mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö but produced by their guitarist Fabian Hildebrandt and a cracking job he’s done too, as has Thomas Westphal on the macabre look cover art, similar to what the debut has only far more detailed and very apt. With that all covered only thing is for me to catch the band live and get a shirt I guess.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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