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ENTRAILS
An Eternal Time Of Decay

Hammerheart (2022)
Rating: 5.5/10

Well this heap of Swedish death metal was never going to throw up any surprises – Entrails taking the tin and doing everything it says on it, then chewing it up and spitting it out. I’m surprised there’s still a call for this sort of generic metal with the barking vocals, the buzzsaw riffage and the loose n’ lethal percussion.

Many will no doubt be appreciative of such a solid output, whereas I’m finding myself more moved by the slower, chunkier lumps of ghoulish metal which intervene on the sturdy opening track ‘Die To Death’ which becomes complete with some melancholic leads. Even so, you do know what’s coming with the combo puking out Carnage, Entombed et al with Autopsy-cum-Coffins; big, salivating grooves that run their course while riddled with chainsaw dismemberment guitars.

This is a difficult album to review to be honest because like those countless Motörhead and AC/DC albums, Entrails – and a myriad of other Swedish acts – just become predictable. And yet I admire the guys for sticking to what they know. Mind you, where else are they going to go? There is however a fine line between sounding authentically old school and derivative, and Entrails often flit between the two, stuck on auto-pilot for long periods in spite of still being aggressive in their tone.

‘Fear The End’ chugs along nicely, ‘Dead By Evil’ follows suite, as does ‘The Dead’, ‘Open Casket Feast’ and ‘Autopsy’. But it’s regressive, at times stale in melody and further proof that death metal would have probably fizzled out if too many bands of this ilk hadn’t shifted gears.

Now though we are lucky to have the more grotesque and otherworldly delights of Wharflurch, Cerebral Rot, Wurm and a host of UK bands, but if you like the comfort blanket of steady, rhythmic pounding in that tried and tested vein then I’m sure An Eternal Time Of Decay and its consistent barrages will appease. However, there’s just so much more going on in the scene now, so many vile vapours being cast off to the point that Entrails’ seventh foray just feels redundant and laborious.

There’s no doubting the prolific nature of these Swedes but their resurrection in 2008, for me anyway, was just too late. The sound displayed here feels like it’s on a loop, the genre now marred by a style that was just so influential after its birth. But I’m sure the more rabid, dedicated death metal fans will disagree with my conclusions on what is essentially a very ordinary album.

Neil Arnold

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