...in Pains

Looking at the booklet of Cadaver’s second release, In Pains, sets the mood for the album. It has something shoved into a man’s eye socket, while poking out the other eye. The album starts off with letting you know how their rhythmic riffing is going to be the entire album. The relentless assault of riffs that change from tremolo to palm muted creates an odd atmosphere, which makes the listener feel confused and never knowing where the song is going to go. Cadaver uses start/stop riffing and continues to play the same riff but they change to a different time signature or to tremolo picking; moreover, this is used tastefully which adds to this odd atmosphere. The drumming, which is obviously written around the guitar, varies every time the riffs changes from a tremolo to a palm mute. These minute changes in the drum patterns help make the riffs flow and keep the listener entertained. Everything put together with the combination of the lyrics show Cadaver could care less about the this life. The lyrics try to make death seem like it’s not all that bad because they are constantly being humorous about it. The blackish vocals weave in and out of the songs, for no apparent reason, adding to the confusion to this album. Cadaver shows it’s possible to use the darkness of death and put an apathetic tone to it. This tone comes from their ability to write metal that combines multiple styles of riffing for almost no reason, making the listener feel confused. This is really unlike anything that came about before, and it is truly innovative. Cadaver knows what death metal is, and they used their strange riffing to make a great album about how pointless life can be.