Death Culture

Quite the surprise indeed, that too from the Balkans. The only band from that region that currently comes to mind is Lykathea Aflame, but I'm given to understand that these guys have had quite a thriving underground metal scene for a while now with some bizarrely underrated death metal acts soldiering on for years in the 90s despite having little to no success or exposure in the overall European metal scene due to lack of distribution and other factors. A vicious little nugget of pounding groove metal with small slices of industrial/electronic and melodic death/black metal thrown in for good measure. Still confused? Let me explain.

While most other groove metal albums mainly focus on the machine-gun repetitive riffing to provide a solid groove to sink into, this album also changes it up every now and then with a generous helping of atmospheric and electronic elements, not to mention some sizzling leads. Like a good dollop of butter or cheese spread over warm toast, the aforementioned elements are quite subtle, but they do hit the senses after a few good listens of the album and sink in with the pummeling grooves of the songs as well. While there are definite nods to bands like Pantera, By Night and the like in terms of influences, the subtle electronic and black metal elements on this disc make this album a far more immersive and invigorating experiences than other releases of the same ilk. I'd hesitate to call this approach completely unique in that sense, but clearly it's not something a lot of bands out there have attempted, or at least not that I've heard of.

Though I haven't heard any of the band's previous releases, I can definitely say for sure that these guys definitely know what the fuck they're doing and go straight for the jugular while keeping you on your toes with some interesting experimentation that keeps you on your toes as you eagerly anticipate what's coming next. Honestly there aren't a lot of albums out there that I can say the same for. There also seems to be a scathing anti-political stance on this album judging by the speech in the intro track and the lyrics in general. Think Nevermore and Megadeth in in terms of similar lyrics about war, the oppression of the masses and terrorism and you're not that far off. Check out "Slavedriver", "Terror", "Demoncracy" (that intro riff!) , "Monarch" (with an awesome mid-section with an even better outro), "" for the brutality and pummeling grooves and if your looking for the more electronic-laced anvil-to-the-face songs then "Non Individumm" (another killer intro riff followed by a searing mid-section), "Demagog", "Holymen" (with an amazing breakdown) "Deluders & Followers" and "Rust" will suit you just fine.

I will ultimately say this - While not a masterpiece, this one isn't too far from having the potential to become one had they just trimmed off a bit of the fat (gets a tad monotonous towards the end plus too many speaking parts/interludes perhaps?). Not to mention far from being a gimmick like most other bands tend to use, the keys do actually enhance the atmosphere of the album giving it quite the haunting aura making it more akin to the OST of a dark and silent slasher/sci-fi action film rather than the more straightforward soundtrack to break someones face to or an action flick for that matter, which is the feel most of the other groove metal albums out there do tend to go for in general. An album that actually does something noticeably different and pulls it off with startling ease. Maybe their next album will seize the potential that this album shows. I for one will be waiting. Pretty damn good stuff overall.