Storm of Malevolence

Ah, yet another piece of Swedish death metal history, Absurd was a short lived band that only released a demo, and this 7" by Seraphic Decay, sadly it fails to live up to its label's and country's incredibly high standards.

Drained of Body Chemicals, is one of the more brutal old-school Swedish releases, focusing on fast tremolo riffs and furious blastbeats, with the occasional thrashy riff. The execution and production is somewhat subpar, I have a feeling that if it would've been a little bit clearer and precise, and mixed properly, it could've been a little bit better. Another low point are the useless solos scattered everywhere, I'm not a big fan of solos in death metal (except maybe in Morbid Angel, Nocturnus and a few others), they're usually misplaced, annoying, pointless, pathetic and drag on for ages (Seen Through Life) ruining the atmosphere and making you lose your interest, same happens with some riffs here, like the one towards the end of "Drained of Body Chemicals", there's something that just sounds wrong with some riffs, as if you were listening to Pantera. Occasionally a few cool riffs pop up here and there, notably on the title track, but most riffs are core-ish and somewhat progressive.

Another point I wish to make, is that metal, unlike most other genres, is audiovisual. A band's image is an integral part of the listening experience, and can usually motivate you to pick up or neglect an album. And sincerely, Absurd's logo and this release's cover are a big turn off. Probably the only reason why I picked this up was because of the label, and it being an early Swedish release.

While not completely worthless, Absurd's Drained of Body Chemicals isn't anything special or new. There are countless of better releases everywhere. Recommended if you're a diehard early death metal maniac like myself, and want to check out some, not really underground, but pretty unknown and forgotten bands.