Echoes from Beneath

The shift from their debut to the second album Circle of Death was a very notable step for Slugathor. They turned down the riff after riff onslaught a bit, taking more time thinking over every song and making them more coherent and efficient. The shift from Circle of Death to Echoes from Beneath is more subtle, yet becomes evident with numerous listens. While the debut was a rather mess of organically evolving riffs, Circle of Death was already carefully thought out and more controlled even though it did have numerous full speed forward moments. Echoes from Beneath however has very few of those. Majority of the album is surprisingly laid back, reminding one a bit of Obituary in terms of tempos and structures though Slugathor goes even to doomy lengths at times.

But the slow to mid-paced tempo works well for the album since the most superb aspect of it is the rhythmic interplay between the drums and the guitars. Slugathor rely heavily on the rhythm parts of their music, which doesn't come as a surprise considering that the long time members are the drummer and the (mostly) rhythm guitarist and this is where their strength lies as well. Tommi and Immu play very fluidly along with each other, the drums always supporting the guitar and not rising up to take the spotlight for themselves. For example, the more complex parts of riffs with numerous chords are often timed on the fourth bar so as to coincide with the fill to add more force to the chords. The presence of this interplay becomes very evident at the oddest moment: when it disappears. The fifth track, Abomination, lacks this aspect in its verse. The riff is simple until the third bar when it rapidly accelerates its chord rate and yet the drums keep playing a simple one-two beat. At first the riff is on its own without any beat to back it up except a few hits on the fourth bar and it works, but with the odd drumbeat back it, it just sounds distinctively off.

The riffing itself is very rhythmic, reminiscent of Bolt Thrower and Obituary, and as mentioned works well together with the drums, vital chords being played right on a drumhit, making the crushing riffs even heavier and more devastating. The riffs are in general quite simple, there's nothing too technical here, just effective and unbelievably catchy. Comparing to any other death metal in its weight class, there's none with riffs as memorable and catchy as these. One reason for this is the generally slow tempo of the album. Without the constant fast pace and overpowering drums, the riffs have more foreground to cover. This is in fact something they need to do. Leads are rather sparse and always appear during the slow parts of the song, appearing leisurely menacing and very deliberate. No chaotic bursts to be found here. The bass has an excellent rumbling sound and follows the guitars rather closely providing a solid backbone. As always with Slugathor, the sound on the album is heavy on the low end so that rumble is constantly present. The vocals are low as well, just as before. They are used surprisingly little on the album. There are numerous slow and long stretches without any and these often end up sounding the most ominous and atmospheric. The album is meticulously mixed, everything audible and in good proportion to each other.

While this may not be the most revolutionizing album out there, this kind of death metal is quite seldom heard these days, especially executed with such exquisite taste. Not a lot of death metal is written in this particular way, with slow and long buildups to explosive and fast crescendos, and not many can make their slow parts sound so menacing and malevolent as well as crushing. Each song seems like an intricate ritual to prepare the coming of something otherworldly and unknowable to us.