'Deadmeat Disciples'

(Dynamic Arts records)












MARK: 96/100




 

Does anyone remember the Finnish Winterwolf, authors of the demo-CDs "Death...will come your way" and "Blood for Death"? After some line-up changes in order to reinforce the band, they are back under the new monicker Deathchain and with a powerful mastering by Minerva Pappi at the ineffable Finnvox Studios.
The co-ordinates remain the same: Death/Thrash metal with a tough attitude and a quite elevated skill of each member, and not only, thanks to the 2 guest guitarists delighting us with several solos and the additional vocals by Antti Boman in a good 5 tracks.

"Chaos Wartech" opens fire with a Speed/Death/Thrash assault; alike the resting songs it's very fast, but there is also a great deal of variations that maintain the compositions interesting from beginning to end. An excellent work of drums, an abrasive guitar solo and demoniac vocals overdubbed with corrosive ones in the vein of At the Gates constitute way more than an appetizer of what's expecting us later.
"Rabid Vultures" slashes with Slayer- and Impious-like riffs, whereas the vocals are this time more reminding the young Mille Petrozza, sided by the growls of the above-mentioned Mr Boman. This piece is more Thrash than the previous one and also more catchy, and contains the best guitar solo of the whole album.
The riffing and the drumming of "Poltergeist (The Nemesis)" show Inferno's and Defleshed's clear influences; this time the terrifying skincrusher Kassara is not simply ultrafast, he's fulminant! To close the track in a deign manner, here comes a fantastic final acceleration spurring the listener to try and find his last energies for a frantic headbanging.
"March of the Thousand Legions" starts alà Slayer, and all of a sudden it turns to tight Swedish Death metal to a great depth (At the Gates once again), but rhythm guitarist and lyricist Corpse invents extra guitar trilling licks as an evidence of fineness in the vast baggage of his capacities. As if it weren't enough, you find a tasty solo after a hard double kickdrum slapping; not all songs have a solo, but when they have them, one can be certain they're far from muffing.
The CD gets over its half through "Carnal Damage", another fast-paced song with annihilating mid-tempos and awesome back-up growls; probably the highlight of the record, one should go see the Finns live just to see how they'll perform this one, especially regarding the drum parts. I am not exaggerating at all by saying that Kassara is powerful, rapid, precise and able enough to be a fit replacement for top drummers such as Dave Lombardo, lamented Vader's Doc or Cryptopsy's Flo Mounier.
Differently, what strikes about "Undertaker" is the lyrics, the most original out of the 9, dealing with the spread ecclesiastical episodes of paedophilia or other sorts of sexual harassments by the clergy. This time the supplemental vocals are alike the latest Cannibal Corpse, while the chorus is typically Thrashy, as well as the rifferama and Bobby's brief solo.
Utilizing the old good gimmick of opening with 10 seconds of low-fi demotape sounds do we arrive at "Skeletal Claws", which afterwards blows out and goes on like the previous song, one more time achieving high quality and inducing as high tension levels as them in the listeners.
"Carrier of Pestilence" is the catchiest track, owing to a Funky metal initial pace (Funky, yes you read well); the rest of the song is standardly Deathchain, but this song is memorable also through the best sung and arranged refrain.
At last, the 5 musicians have decided to keep the most well-made up guitar structures for the conclusive title track, abundant with highs and lows on the bridge and, what matters most, extremely involving; they let the percussionist exceed his performances so far, so as to follow the harmonic construction.

After all, a cool artwork connected with the style of Obituary's "Cause of Death" and a tough members' look complete the positive picture concerning this debut, it being understood that the most important aspect is that the old Thrash metal here relives moderned and strengthened in a winning formula. Therefore the message to the people keeping to the safe side and at the same time looking for newcomers within this genre is not to let the chance of approaching these Finnish monsters on record and on stage for no reason of this world!



MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 20th June 2005














Line-up on this record:
Rotten - Vocals (ex-Ancient Drive, ex-Sideshow Zombies)
Corpse - Guitar, Vocals on the demo (also in De Lirium's Order, Demilich, Trollheim's Grott, ex-Twisted Silence)
Bobby Undertaker - Guitar (alsoin Trollheim's Grott)
Kuolio - Bass (also in Shade Empire, Trollheim's Grott)
Kassara - Drums (also in Black Death Ritual, Darkwoods My Betrothed, Trollheim's Grott)


Contacts:
E-mail: crypticlegion@hotmail.com

Official sites:
www.deathchain.com
http://www.myspace.com/deathchain


Demo-/Disco-graphy:
Poltergeist (Demo, 2002)
DeadMeat Disciples (CD - 2003)
Deathchain/Deathbound (Split-CD - 2005)
Deathrash Assault (CD - 2005)