Clenched

Despite the stereotypical sound associated with the Gothenburg area (no pun intended), there is a level of variety even with the strict orthodoxy of melodic death metal. And likewise, despite the heavy similarity in their album art with a recent In Flames release (okay, that pun was intentional), Despite has a sound that is not quite typical of the primary founders of the style. As best as can be assessed, their sound on “Clenched” is a harder edged, modern mixture of melodic and traditional death metal mayhem. There are few surprises, an approach that puts simplicity at the helm, and an overall tendency to accent aggression while downplaying the epic/catchy tendencies associated with the scene.

While presenting a sound that is pretty radio friendly from a current view of metal trends, there is a charm to this album, much in the same respect as that of Brother Von Doom, who they sound fairly similar to. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear a vocalist like Alex Losbäck (a former bassist of Runemagick) who has a reasonably dark and guttural style in line with such names as Corpsegrinder and Glen Benton, though at times there are some unfortunate tendencies towards the latter’s occasional flirtation with rapping. It is also a nice change of pace to see a band putting together riffs that are more akin to Cannibal Corpse, albeit in a much less complex form, than the usual hodgepodge of 80s metal influences.

Nevertheless, there isn’t much on here that really demands worship or obsession. The songs are fairly safe and primitive, barring the Sludgy goodness found on the near 7 minute closer “The Cause And Solution”, which sounds like a composite of Down and “Trendkill” era Pantera, featuring a sweet mix of muddy Southern riff work and death barks. Some of the longer songs tend towards the harder fringes of latter day material out of Nightrage, but a lot of the material on here sounds like it’s all but equally informed by Pro-Pain and a few other Hardcore oriented Groove bands as that of the general Gothenburg fold. It’s generally a decent listen, but it’s a little unfocused and definitely could have had a bit more to it.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on February 22, 2011.