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MIND SNARE
Ancient Cults Supremacy

The Spew (2014)
Rating: 8/10

Opting for a straight-laced death metal barrage, Italian extreme metal mongers Mind Snare are veterans of this noise, having been active from the late 1980s although originally as Satan’s Slaughter, and then into the early 90s as Chemiotherapy before altering their moniker again in 1992.

Ancient Cults Supremacy is the fourth instalment from this quartet, whose last full-length release emerged some nine years previous in 2005 with From Blood To Dust. Nonetheless, this eight-track affair is a welcome return for members Derek (vocals), Chris Benso (guitar), Fabio (bass) and Sergio Pavinato (drums).

In spite of some of the revival trends doing the rounds – like old school thrash, straight-up metal etc. – I’m rather overjoyed to hear some bands still churning out old school, foetid death metal. Although Mind Snare incorporates elements of grind at times, this is very much a decomposing brand of vintage death metal propelled by those deep, guttural vocal bellows and a slick, trundling bass which burrows its way through the heavy wall of raging guitar and slamming percussion. Mixing faster segments with gloomier, slower melody, I’m finding myself spinning this wretched release numerous times because I’m so admiring of its no frills ability to just hit hard.

It seems only obvious that there will be a number of influences, ranging from Suffocation to Dutch deathsters Gorefest as well as Deicide in parts. It’s also no surprise that the themes centred upon concern death, hate and all-round aggression, enabling the likes of ‘Entrenched In Agony’, ‘Deceived Humanity’, ‘Mutilated Meaning Of Life’ et al to do the simple job of extracting blood and smearing it up the walls. It’s pretty brutal stuff in that vintage, straightforward style and only occasionally hinting at technicality, and why try harder when the ingredients for the formula work so well?

There is some fantastic percussion here from Pavinato and some truly devastating, low-tempo acts of belligerence that I almost want to transport myself back to 1989 and pretend this is being belched out on some old, cracked cassette tape. In life there are times when you just want the simple things, and Mind Snare have offered up a modest slab of bruising death metal that should happily embed itself into the flesh of anyone with a penchant for that classic late 80s and early 90s death metal butchery. Nuff said… dig in.

Neil Arnold

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