Sanguine Scales

Disgod is Belarus’ answer to the U.S. death metal scene of the late 80s, and the question is whether it’s good enough to lay claim to such a worthy tag. From what I’ve heard on the band’s breakout CD Sanguine Scales I’d say the tag appears to be properly placed. Capturing that old Florida sound isn’t easy to do properly, but I think Disgod has a shot at just such a claim.

Floridian-sounding death metal is seemingly everywhere (or at least you’d think it was) with all of the bands trying in vain to recreate that wondrous sound to no avail. Disgod has a twelve-track album full of some pounding death metal, complete with Jeff Bacerra-esque vocals over Massacre-like music (with some of that Don Dotty-era Dark Angel sound to boot), culminating in a very sincere musical venture. With some songs not even hitting the two-minute mark, the feel of “get-in-get-out” leaves only the complaint of the tracks seemingly ending before the real flurry begins. That said, it’s still a great listen throughout with its musical prowess over-indicative of what the death metal scene was built on years ago.

The song ”Mirror of Mors” is a stampeding effort of that old-school feel we’ve come love and miss. Vocalist/Guitarist SP, drummer Bes Trefoil and bassist Ogrish seem to be the latest in a semi-long line of trios that create some resounding metal music. Following the band’s Contaminated Surgery demo back in 2005, Disgod won’t be beating down Chuck Schuldiner’s door in terms of legendary stature, but given the right amount of time and inspiration they could well be one of the bands talked about with due reverence. It’s a good-time death metal trip that revels in tight production and well-structured musical pieces that can stand up with the best of the current death collective.

My one complaint, as I mentioned, is that some of the songs are too short. I understand the desire to not saturate the senses with long, drawn-out drivel, but leave that for the bands that have little to say and less to go on. I’m certainly not saying become Opeth with epic nine-minute tracks, but certainly let the songs ring out a bit, so to speak. It appears that right when you feel the pressure and tension reach its breaking point, the songs end a bit prematurely. When something is good, a slight amplification can work subtle wonders. Other than that, Disgod should to be heard.

Standouts are “Ghouls,” “The Killed,” “For the Transient” and “Sharp.” “The Killed” is a violent song through and through, while “Sharp” sounds like a Death demo track that should have been. I hope to hear more from these guys who managed to capture the art form thought lost to the mundane, boring D-chord rip-offs of the last few years.

(Originally written for http://www.metalpsalter.com)