Abysmal Grief

I’ll be honest - I liked the band name better when Richard C fooled me into believing that it was “Goddified.” I mean, Goddefied (or God Defied as it would be pronounced) is OK, but anyone can defy god. Now Goddified, that sounds like a cool synonym for deification, which ultimately carries a lot more weight. And, given the music, it would be much more appropriate of a name in that these Swedes were obviously attempting to become gods of Death Metal through the blatant imitation of the twin deities, Entombed and Dismember. It’s actually almost embarrassing how much this is cast in the mold of the aforementioned greats. It’s probably a good thing Wild Rags bands never made a profit because these guys would certainly have some royalties due their idols. At times, you feel you know exactly what’s coming next and, more often than not, your expectations are spot on.


“Blaspheme In Blood” kicks off the ep with a quick progression that sounds like a mesh of the opening riffs from Dismember’s “Skin Her Alive” and the title track from “Left Hand Path.” From there it quickly becomes apparent things are turning into a Nicke Andersen lovefest of the highest order. Everything is here from the metalli-punk rhythms to the distant lead tone accentuated by lots of bends and dives fading into the darkened depths. There are even flourishes here and there that just sound like you’ve heard them before - like the vocal cry at the close of the song that sounds so familiar I had to scan through all of Left Hand Path just to find out if it was sampled directly from the disc. This goes beyond clone status and reaches full on worship.


The trilling riff that opens track two, “Zephaniah Dwells,” establishes a stronger Dismember feel, but the results are the same. And the shocking thing is that these are not simply upstarts trying to find their musical path by emulating the current crop of luminaries, these guys really know their chops. The musicians, especially the guitarists, are wholly competent. The lead work is startlingly good – maybe not Uffe-caliber, but it holds its own with Blomqvist and co.


Rather than go on with a track by track analysis, let’s just say that the pattern is repeated early and often. And, if you had to guess as to where this was recorded, you’d probably need a single try. I wonder how much déjà vu Tomas Skogsberg experienced during this session? He did the rudimentary job and gave Goddefied “the sound” and we shouldn’t be the least surprised in that it works.


In an odd way, the complete lack of ingenuity and originality does work because, with a formula this strict, any deviation from the core would sound completely out of whack. But, like when you switch from Coke to Diet Coke, you know they might taste roughly the same, but you feel that you’re missing out on some key ingredient that essentially makes the whole package. Considering that the longest of the six tracks clocks in at 3:21, you can’t expect the true breadth of Entombed and Dismember’s vision. There is no Left Hand Path and no Override the Overture, just abbreviated clippings from photocopied albums. And, still, I can’t bring myself to lower this score below 80 because, damn, I love me some Swedish Death Metal. Were this General Surgery we would be able to revel in the accurate parody-as-tribute because that was always the intended agenda. With Goddefied, there is no such disclaimer, but the sentiments are clearly the same. Not something to play in lieu of the masters, but certainly a fun companion piece.