Unleashing the Slugathron

It is always pleasing to find a band doing something else besides the usual death/thrash, black metal (melodic or otherwise), folk metal or gothic metal right here in Finland. Slugathor is one of those bands. Well, actually, a lot of stuff outside of those is done here, but this is the first time I run into brutal death metal band in a while so it feels refreshing. Slugathor aren't out to re-invent the wheel though. I can't say that they are the most innovative band out there.

But the band isn't aspiring for that either. What they are out to do is to write some crushing death metal and that is where they definitely succeed. The band keeps the tempo to middling speeds so as not to lose any of the heavy momentum they have. Keeping to middle-paced material, they also carve out a rather ignored niche for themselves and play their biggest strength, the songwriting. The songs are not so much constructed wholes, but organic beings evolved from the very first notes. The way the riffs grow from the beginnings to the climax of the song is unbelievably effective. What makes it even more powerful is the way the drums join in in this grand evolution of songs. Immu's drumming is great even otherwise, not very flashy, but his beats are nicely varied and fills fit in well within the compounds of the songs. Where his drumming really shines is when he gradually changes the beat to support the evolving riff. That is something close to perfection.

Another magnificent aspect of Unleashing the Slugathron is the production. It is very heavy on the low end. The guitars don't have that much crunch, but when they're so crushingly low with the bass providing a distinct, rumbling backbone, you don't even notice it. The vocals are mostly low rumbles as well with some higher rasps occasionally thrown in. The low vocals are not very distinct, but they are utilized as just another instrument, not really taking the foreground except at a few points for highlighting purposes. Most of the time they work together with the guitars and bass to create organic songs. Which is what Unleashing the Slugathron essentially is - a collection of organically growing songs, fitting well together and forming a cohesive whole due to their common breeding ground. As I said in the beginning, this album doesn't break much new ground, but damn if these guys don't execute death metal better than almost anyone out there at this time, if ever. This album is just such a joy to listen to all over again.