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MORBID BREATH
In The Hand Of The Reaper EP

Redefining Darkness (2021)
Rating: 8/10

I’m not sure if these Swedish metallers realise just how silly their band name is, but let’s not allow that detail to affect what is essentially a solid thrash EP.

What jumps out at me upon first listen of this five track affair is the snarling, dry vocal attack and the killer guitar tone which fizzes with that 80s nostalgia. I also like the fact that the band don’t start out with a blazing, sniping attack. Instead, the opening title track, ‘In The Hand Of The Reaper’, is delivered at a measured pace with tight chugging guitars and a precise percussive backbone. The pace does quicken but it’s never, what I’d call, aggressive. However, the simplicity of design creates a melodic yet snarling effect whereby you’re instantly thrown into the metal mesh trench.

Next up is ‘Hellbringer’, which again has that gnarly guitar tone. This track is pacier with rumbling bass and galloping drum beat, but it still maintains an almost organic, dirty atmosphere bolstered by the vocal delivery. At times I’m transported back to the mid-80s and there’s certainly something un-Swedish about the affair, if that makes sense?

‘Ancient Beasts’ again shows the band in that pacey, but not overly aggressive mode, and I’d love to know if this is intentional? That feeling they create feels vintage and evil in its trudging. Meanwhile, ‘Beneath The Graves’ muddies the thrash even further, with the bass shedding heaps of rubble as a solo worms its way from the nastiness, and that mid-paced menace is dominant as the percussion kicks hard. How can a band just seemingly plod with no frills but carve up such authentic and evil sounding grimness?

Closer ‘Death Trap’ opens with suspenseful melody. There are hints of old Slayer, but Morbid Breath’s identity is carved from the faces of many before them to provide one great heap of gnarly metal that thrashes without glosses and grinds itself in the dirt. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this is thrash metal, but raw, less flashing, and just organic to its very soul. And as those vocals spit further lumps of bloodied soil at your ears, you just can’t help but go back for more.

Morbid Breath’s debut EP is sure to be an underground cult classic. In The Hand Of The Reaper is an unassuming yet gritty and catchy opus that you can’t quite put your finger on in spite of its alarming simplicity, but the atmosphere and tone is there for all to hear and I just can’t wait for a full-length outburst.

Neil Arnold

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