Abysmal Grief

Some bands are so far ahead of their time that their potential audience has yet to catch up with them. Extreme metal throws up a relatively high number of these bands. Extremity has always been one aspect of experimentation. These bands push the envelope as far as they can, beyond the bounds of more conventional forms of music. Extreme metal provides the perfect training ground for untutored musicians to take musical risks. This is one of the things I love most about the different forms of extreme metal. It often sounds ‘out there’ without really trying. Sometimes this happens by accident, like the unfettered, game-changing extremity of Parabellum and (early) Sarcófago. Elsewhere, it happens by design, with consciously progressive bands sailing deep into uncharted waters (e.g., Voivod or Traumatic Voyage).

...and then there are bands like Goddefied, the antithesis of everything I’ve just described. These guys play some of the most regressive music imaginable. There is nothing original about this band whatsoever. Their “Abysmal Grief” EP is a carbon copy of the Swedish ‘HM2’ death metal sound that was pioneered by Entombed, Dismember and Nirvana 2002. To Goddefied’s credit, they sound like a perfect blend of those three bands. This EP emerged a couple of years after the sound had been defined. Goddefied managed to find the sweet spot between them all. This EP has the raging punk speed of Dismember, the richness and thickness of Entombed, and a vocalist that sounds like the child of Orvar Säfström and LG Petrov. These are great influences, and Goddefied’s result is as awesome as it is generic.

Sure, we could bash Goddefied for their lack of originality. Listening to this EP often feels like a game of 'name that riff'. Most of these six songs can be traced back to an Entombed or a Dismember song (or two). "Spiritually Deceased" is a cross between "But Life Goes On" and "Skin Her Alive". "Left to Die" sounds like a medley of "Bitter Loss" and "Blessed Be". I’m sure there are other examples too. Goddefied keeps the intensity and urgency of both bands. They tend to emphasise the straight-ahead, fast, punky side of those bands, not the more melodically expressive side. There are some solos, but this is more “Bleed for Me” than “Override of the Overture” in approach. The Sunlight studio production sounds amazing, Tomas Skogsberg was a death metal veteran by this point (it was recorded in 1992). The production sounds much better than the flat, over-ripe sound of "Clandestine". I actually prefer this EP to the second albums by Entombed and Dismember, though it doesn’t compete with the monumental debuts.

There isn't much else to say. Goddefied lack some of the catchiness of their idols. The songs on this EP are not as memorable as those that inspired them. Still, there is certainly a demand for bands that sound like this, then as now. This EP should be near the top of your list if you are exploring this particular sound, assuming you have already heard the likes of Nirvana 2002, God Macabre, Desultory and Utumno. Anyone who likes this stuff will like “Abysmal Grief”, which sounds as rampant and ruthless as you might expect. I wish they had kept the (accidental) name of 'Goddified' though, which appeared on the spine of the original release. It was a better name.