Into Never Shall

For now, there seems to be no signs of slowing down the old school death metal train. These last few years have seen good releases by bands like Daemoniac, Skelethal and Belgium's Schizophrenia, to name just a (very) select few. All very enjoyable releases that bring nothing new to the table, but certainly did not disappoint this nostalgic death metal fanatic. Something that can be said about the first full length of Canadian outfit Expunged as well!

After an atmospheric intro, the feast of recognition begins, because this sounds like my neighbors arguing or my boss nagging: very familiar. The first bands that come to mind are the usual suspects of Dismember and early Entombed, but Grave and Fleshcrawl aren't far off in the distance, because this is Swedish death metal galore (but from Canada). This comes courtesy of that well-known buzzsaw guitar tone that we all know, love and worship, and it's this sound that keeps together a sturdy collection of simple yet catchy death metal songs. There is plenty of variation in between the tracks to distinguish them from each other, without losing coherence or drive. The band mix their more traditional faster (polka beat) parts with slower sections, but aren't afraid to throw in some d-beat or go for full-on grindcore frenzy (Repulsion style) either, thus creating a total picture that stays interesting throughout. A picture that is completed by excellent musicianship and a loud and clear production, that sounds powerful without sacrificing the old school spirit of the music, so well done on that one too!

Another thing well worth mentioning is that the music has this crust edge to it. Not only in the d-beat parts that pop up here and there, but also in the vocals and the lyrics. The vocalist has the kind of gruff delivery you'd expect from a band that deals in Swedeath influenced metal, but he has me thinking of Dean Jones of Extreme Noise Terror/Disgust quite a lot too, with a tad of Scott from Repulsion thrown in. The crust influence really comes to the fore in the lyrics that tackle subject matter such as war and the failings of society, the kind you'd find on albums by the likes of Amebix, Disrupt or Disfear. These bleak topics match the music without flaw, and help round out the old school feel of this shiny little platter without fail.

This is a great old school death metal release that may not bring anything new to the masses but let me assure you that there are far more inferior releases in this over-saturated scene, and Expunged's first full is well worth the effort, as well as your time and money.