SLAUGHTERDAY
Nightmare Vortex
FDA Rekotz (2013)
Rating: 8/10
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Ever wondered what it’s like to be run over by a steamroller? Well, just one spin of the debut opus from Germany’s Slaughterday, Nightmare Vortex, will no doubt leave you embedded in the turf with bones broken and spitting blood, because this is one seriously intimidating death metal album.
It’s hard to believe that two guys can make so much noise, but hell, they’ve gone and done it; Bernd Reiners (vocals / drums) and Jens Finger (guitar / bass) being solely responsible for the brain juice leaking out of my cranium cracks!
Nightmare Vortex is a mind-shredding improvement from the Cosmic Horror demo which crawled out from under the carpet earlier in 2013. These guys have only been around since 2010, but it seems they’ve taken any criticism of their demo onboard and returned with this punishing eight-track composition, which has somehow melted together the oozing sickness of Autopsy and the carnage of old school death metal with a few modern twists.
The result of this unholy amalgamation is that Slaughterday are a gritty, dirty and ultra-heavy band who feature riffs which dissect the soul and gnarly vocals that sound as if they’ve been born from the very depths of hell’s most cavernous chamber. The subject matter is equally grim with tales of ancient orders and general death metal eeriness all wrapped up in bulldozer drums and varying pace which exists upon twisted, sickening guitar tones and unearthly bass.
These guys are clearly inspired by the late 80s and early 90s death metal scene, and while this may not be the most original death metal noise you’ll hear this year, it’s one that truly pummels its victims into submission with tracks such as ‘Addicted To The Grave’, ‘Morbid Shroud Of Sickness’ and ‘Obsessed With The Undead’ all sporting that rather familiar Autopsy-style of gruelling gore and yet with a pacey backbone of old Dismember.
The terrible duo really get their groove on with the catchy morbidity of opener ‘Unearthly Evocation’ which sets us up for a cold night out in the graveyard. Critics may point out that Slaughterday are merely a sum of many already existing parts within the death metal evolutionary chain, but when it’s played with such a macabre slant it’s difficult not to choke on this festering sore of a record.
It’s great too that the tracks ‘Cosmic Horror’ and ‘Cult Of The Dreaming Dead’ have survived from the demo, as they were the best two tracks on that four-track project, but this time there is more murderous intent with those vocals and the drums extract the spine with ease.
Slaughterday are a band worth keeping your gouged eyes on because this unpleasant debut has most certainly left a vile scar on this reviewer.
Neil Arnold
