Descend into Heresy

My first Keitzer listening experience was their 2008 As the world burns album, where I was actually very surprised by the power of the act. I was impressed by their ability to mix grind, death metal and hardcore so smoothly. Three years have now passed since that release, and as far as I know there haven’t been a split or EP in between, so I assume they’ve spent the better part of the years writing material for Descend into heresy, which should make it very worked through.

They certainly don’t mess around, and as soon as you’ve pressed play the blasting sets in. I immediately notice a slight difference in sound, incorporating even more melody, and with an even heftier and denser production. While the core of Keitzer’s sound remain grind, the hardcore might’ve gotten slightly less space, and with more emphasis on the metal part of their sound. This actually brings The Black Dahlia Murder to mind, which in my opinion is fairly unfortunate. The album’s haunted by an ever-so-present core-ghost. While they never really reach the realms of the oh-so-dreadful metalcore, and stay clear of any deathcore tendencies, I still can’t help but feel a slight disturbance in the force, a tingling in my spidey sense. The more pure death metal influences sounds somewhat reminiscent of Coldworker, actually, which in my opinion is absolutely killer, but also a touch of Misery Index.

The riffing’s slick, and just as before they manage to mix grindcore and death metal without winding up as just another deathgrind act, but with the edition of some hardcore attitude and flair, it’s much more melodic. Tons of guitar lines are jammed in to create these melodies, which are balanced out a little by the very audible and rumbling bass. So far it’s all good, except for the fact that I miss some brutality. The main vocals are quite high-pitched and carry a very crusty feel to them, but to me they don’t bring the deadly and gory feel that a sturdy growl would’ve. I’m most certainly sure that wasn’t their intention either, but it just winds up as a bit too melodic for me. The instrument handling is flawless, the drumming’s absolutely supreme and they constantly throw you off balance with a buttload of tempo changes. I just don’t feel the brutality and aggression as much as I’d liked, and I think the production’s to blame for some of it. The production’s just too digital, too clean and crisp, and I miss a certain umph from a low-end mix. But then again I’m a growl fanatic, I love my deathgrind gory, so I’m not exactly part of the key demographic here. It’s still masterfully done, though.

Originally written for My Last Chapter