ENTRAILS
Raging Death
Metal Blade (2013)
Rating: 7/10
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Having been unmoved by their 2011 opus The Tomb Awaits, I find myself once again paddling in the murky waters of Sweden’s Entrails in the hope of inspiration.
The band’s previous opus was very much inspired by the classic Entombed debut Left Hand Path (1990), and the main issue I have with these stalwarts is that they’ve been somewhat left behind by fellow countrymen Grave, Dismember, and the already mentioned Entombed.
These guys were certainly around during those great years, but didn’t release their debut opus, Tales From The Morgue, until 2010. And while Raging Death more than lives up to its name, compared to those classic bands it simply doesn’t exist fit to lace their boots.
However, Entrails have certainly improved since 2011; the vocals have a grittier edge to them and there’s an even looser feel to proceedings. That typical Swedish style of chainsaw riffing works wonders every time, but again, we feel like we’ve been here before – several decades before in fact.
Even so, Entrails are still a decent death metal act, relying on old school dynamics for their tales of horror. The guitars of Jimmy Lundqvist and Mathias Nilsson are aggressive yet bouncy, while the drums of Adde Mitroulis are pummelling, as album opener ‘In Pieces’ lets rip on the ears with a massive, fuzzed-out groove and clattering percussion. Vocally, it’s very much in that old school Entombed-style of growling with added chesty cough, and the constant changes of pace allow the listener to indulge themselves, as one minute the ears are battered by a battering ram at pace, and then a shift into lower gears of chainsaw buzz.
‘Carved To The Bone’ features a killer mid-paced melody, no frills death metal at its best in fact with a kicking drum and then hyper attack. Elsewhere, we have the monstrous chug of ‘Bloodhammer’, the ferocious tidal wave that is ‘Headless Dawn’, and the face-melting assault of ‘Death League’. The latter is a riotous affair featuring several guest performances, including that of former Death and Massacre vocalist Kam Lee, who destroys the speakers with his distinctive bellowing.
Entrails are quite a formidable act, but they do lack the potent swagger of bands such as Grand Supreme Blood Court, whose similar style of death metal rattling blew me away just a short while ago with their 2012 debut Bow Down Before The Blood Court. However, for the most part, Raging Death is a blistering experience that has no other intention but to batter the hell out of the brain in stylish fashion. One can’t help be moved by the grating vocal sneer of ‘Chained And Dragged’ and the old school dynamics of album closer ‘The Cemetery Horrors’ with its devilish guitar sound and gnarled chorus.
So, its hats off to Entrails for getting the right mix, albeit third time round. I look forward to the next episode.
Neil Arnold
