Ancient civilisations are totally cool, and of course very Metal. In fact quite a lot of history is pretty Metal. So it makes sense for bands to latch onto it and use it for songwriting. Just look at Nile, stupidly well written Death Metal with all those Egyptian themes. They really do stand in a league of their own. You might contest that this is nothing more than gimmick trash, but a gimmick is great if you can back it up with good music. Amon Amarth, Alestorm, Lordi, even iconic Metal figures like Eddie and Rattlehead, it’s all a gimmick and we all buy into it.
Speaking of Maiden they of course released The Book Of Souls which had a bit of focus on the Mayans, but what happens when you turn that into Slamming Brutal Death Metal? Well you get Anthropophagus Depravity of course. These Indonesian Death Metal newcomers came onto the scene in 2016 and have now signed a deal with the ever-incredible Comatose Music. This signing comes with the release of the Mayan inspired full length debut Apocalypto, is it a strong start for these historical Slammers?
The mighty Hymn To Apocalypto is a very powerful start. Groovy, a bit Slam and overall evil, Brutal Death Metal. The guitars and bass are thick and the drums punchy, a great mix. Even though this intro track breaks into ambience it’s really fitting and pretty epic, I love the Mayan theme and it works super well. Forecasting Ruination is a big first proper track, the vocals are dirty and the BDM staples run true, fast, destructive and with plenty of groove and some filthy Slams too. Don’t expect much in the way of variation from this point. Aside from the odd sample you can’t really tell that there is a Mayan theme, but personally I think it’s just really well written BDM with a little gimmick twist.
Getting into the next half of the album, still not much variation. One could brand this as generic BDM with the Mayan thing slapped on it, and you’d be justified to say that. Then again when you hear a song like Immolation For The Sacred God you can’t help but feel the crushing might of Anthropophagus Depravity. Escape From The Dead Lands brings more Slam power, if Slam were a more serious genre then this would be high end Slam. In fact on that note if you think Slam is dumb (which is part of the fun, get over it) then this might appeal as it takes a more straight up Death Metal path, Death Metal that is brutal rather than BDM, am I making sense? The album probably could have and would have closed nicely with Ruthless Nation Perished, instead we get Mantra Solar Eclipse. I mean I’m not complaining, it’s a good song, but it doesn’t add much to the album experience.
All in all, quality stuff. I can’t go above and beyond and proclaim it the greatest BDM album ever or anything because quite honestly there really isn’t anything special about it. It’s just good, and if you like BDM then it’ll tick all the right boxes. I’ve said before that generic doesn’t always mean bad because generic just means the same as other stuff and if you like that other stuff then sometimes that’s all you need. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, just put a bit of Mayan history on it and release it through Comatose.
(8/10 George Caley)
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