Hot on the heels of last December’s very well received debut album ‘Nightmare Vortex’ comes this stonking 4 track EP from old school German deathsters Slaughterday.
Ravenous consists of three original new songs and a cracking cover of Acheron’s ‘Ave Satanas’
The three new tracks are very much in the same vein as the debut LP – a raw hybrid of death / doom a’la Asphyx & Autopsy garnished with a sprinkle of Entombed, certainly three of my all time favourite bands and Slaughterday do fine justice to their influences on this EP.
Opening track ‘Ravenous’ has a brief spacey bass driven intro before your neck gets a workout with the d-beat esque drumming and grinding riffage. Very Entombed this track but slowing to a crushingly heavy crawling part two minutes in which could have come straight off ‘Mental Funeral’ then we’re spazzing off into an insane solo from Jens Finger (guitars / bass) before the d-beats are back and you’ll be screaming ‘RA-VEN-OUS’ along with Bernd Reiners (drums / vocals). Speaking Bernd’s voice – an unholy mash of Martyn Van Drunen & George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher – they fit very snugly on top of the music and suit it very well.
‘Crawling In Secrecy’ & ‘Abyss Of Nameless Fear’ follow and the sheer quality of DM song-writing doesn’t falter. ‘Crawling…’ is a total riff fest featuring some amazing drumming and echoes ‘Blessed Are The Sick’ era Morbid Angel. ‘Abyss…’ is a straightforward, no nonsense banger that thrashes along at a right old pace and will leave you with a stiff neck and finger reaching for the ‘repeat’ button…… but not before a grindingly faithful run through of ‘Ave Satanas’ originally recorded in 1992 by Floridian devil-botherers, Acheron.
All in, a very deserving purchase. Looking forward to the next album lads.
(8/10 Mark Eve)
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