I’ve been regularly listening to “Deathspawn” for the last couple of days while watering the garden.
So much so that the neighbours must be thinking the recent heatwave came straight from the depths of hell, as a result of my satanic gestures towards the tomatoes plants. Alas, as I write this here review, the God of Thunder is now upon us and there’s a devilish storm-a-brewing…
Enough of the weather report. However, the dark skies above and the pounding downpour seem somewhat more fitting as the backdrop to “Reverendus “. After all, the Polish death metallers have provided a devilish beast of an album.
The album opens with “Grace of Purpose”, a great track that sets the tone from the off, without peaking too soon. Then the awesome “Sacred Ground” follows and is relentless in its sonic attack. Complete with screeching solos, grinding breaks and doom-ridden vocals.
Wbich pretty much sums up the rest of “Reverendus” whereby Dearthspawn have a classic love of death metal that takes no prisoners. The title track is positioned halfway through the record, before the 7-minutes that follow in “Rage of Pariah”.
Partly due to its length, it’s understandable that “Rage of Pariah” travels at a slightly alternative speed. More of a doom intro than full-on blast-beats, but that doesn’t last long until you’re fully crushed by the rage of Deathspawn.
Deathspawn – “Reverendus”
This is an album that owes just as much to the production as it does the quality of Deathspawn’s performance in the studio. There’s no lo-fi sound engineering typical of early black metal, yet it’s not over-produced to a state of saturation.
In fact, when it comes to death metal albums in 2021, albeit officially released in December last year, this is probably one of the best yet.
As for those hellish skies I mentioned, the previous heatwave was so short-lived I can barely remember it. Yet between writing this review and getting around to posting it, the sun has come back with a vengeance… but the thunderstorms have been unbelievable.
Deathspawn – “Reverendus” out now on Defense Records.
