Real-Life Death

It's tough to find a band as maligned in the metal scene as Waking the Cadaver. Their demo and debut album was met with an almost universally negative reception. While I agree "Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler" was a horrid mishmash of slam, beatdown hardcore and wigger aesthetic, their follow up "Beyond Cops Beyond God" won me over. Taking cues from death metal bands such as Dying Fetus and Morbid Angel as well as hardcore like All Out War and Integrity, they put out an album that while not quite as negatively received, still didn't win over very many. 3 years later and they've put out the admittedly stupidly named "Real-Life Death". This is the album that might finally change the opinions of so many of the naysayers. This album is the perfect blend of wigger slam and beatdown that they've been trying to achieve all along.

First and foremost, this thing is packed with slams! Beyond Cops, Beyond God used more traditional death metal riffage, which are still used here where necessary, but this album is absolutely stuffed with wigger slams that fans of Kraanium would be able to get into. The slam that ends the album on "Life Lesson" is fairly reminiscent of mid-era Dying Fetus. John Hartman and Mike Mayo also show influence from Malignancy using quite a few pinch harmonics throughout. The guitar tone is also very crunchy and powerful, a bit like the tone on Controlled Elite by Dehumanized. There's also a quick little solo on "Life Lesson", similar to the one from "Suffering Upon Revenge" from the previous album. It's nothing remarkable but it's pretty cool to hear it. The bass is somewhat audible but for the most part it follows the guitars.

Drummer Dennis Morgan has received his fair amount of flak for his drumming, which was sloppy as hell on "Perverse..." and improved but still lacking on "Beyond...". Here, however, his performance is extremely tight. Lots of blast beats, snare rides and groovy fills to compliment the slams. His performance is quite comparable to Kraanium's "Post Mortal Coital Fixation" in terms of both technique and tone. Special mention to the shitty snare that no slam album is complete without.

On to Don Campan's vocals. Usually the least popular part of the first album because of his near constant pig squeals, and a little bit of inhaled gurgling. However, here his vocals are at their very best. On the last album he mostly stuck to a bellowing growl similar to John Gallagher from Dying Fetus mixed with a hardcore yell. Here he is using the same style, but mixing it up with gutturals and pig squeals that holy shit actually sound fucking decent! "Business as Usual" is just one track alone that showcases his impressive range. His lyrics still leave a lot to be desired, mostly still sounding like they were co-written by a gangsta rapper, "Lumped Up" being the most questionable. "Better watch your mouth, son" indeed. There's also a number of hardcore gang shouts, such as on "Money Power Death". They're a bit silly but they work surprisingly well.

Terrible lyricism aside, Waking the Cadaver have finally pulled their shit together and put out a brilliant beatdown slam album. Fans of Kraanium, No Zodiac, Dying Fetus and Dehumanized alike should find something to enjoy here. I feel this album should change more than a few minds of the people who hate their previous efforts.

Highlights: Money Power Death, Business as Usual, Lumped Up.