Stench

In Putrescence

Written by: PP on 06/01/2011 15:55:45

Agonia Records seems to harbour new and side-projects of members from famous bands. I just reviewed Mr. Death, and here we have Stench from the same old school Swedish death metal scene, a trio featuring two members of Tribulation and one unknown dude. Hence, another old school DM revivalist band your way comes, utterly and completely faithful to its late 80s/early 90s Swedish DM origins. Their new album, "In Putrescence", is marginally better than the one by Mr. Death, however, because it isn't a direct copy of the old greats, and therefore less derivative.

Instead, it integrates a vague crossover feel to the sound, due to a punk-like tempo found in most songs. Consequently, it's slightly more brutal and chaotic, owns a frantic pace, and amounts to ugly, uncompromising old school death metal by definition. Two details strike out from the record: slick bass-playing, which for once is perfectly audible in the mix. Maybe not as strongly as in the likes of Obscura, but enough to constantly make out the bass as if Stench was a punk band rather than a death metal one. Part of the crossover feel, I guess. The second detail is the doom-oriented, atmosphere-laden tracks like "Drenched In The Light" and "Ghosts", which slow down the ridiculous tempo momentarily for some displays of structure and songwriting ability. Much needed variety, methinkS.

Overall, "In Putrescence" should remind you of bands like Watain, and of course also Tribulation, but most of all it's another release designed to take you back to the origins of death metal over two decades ago. It does offer a slight twist to the classic sound, but not enough to warrant an award of the higher ratings just yet. We've heard it all before, a gazillion times, and while it's not bad, why not listen to the classics instead?

Download: Breath Of The Rottenness, Face Of Death
For the fans of: Mr. Death, Watain, Tribulation
Listen: Myspace

Release date 01.11.2010
Agonia Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.