Isn’t it weird that sometimes death metal makes you feel OK inside, like it’s connecting with some strange thing that should leave you feeling repulsed but instead does the opposite? It’s not that you have to wallow in awful things when you listen to this style of music. That would be silly. I just sometimes find it funny when my mood turns around when the gnarliest sounds I can find are in my ears.
For some reason, I can’t find a way to feel bad when I listen to death crushers The Glorious Dead, a band that immerses themselves in the old-style strains of this sub-genre and regurgitates that with deadly precision. Their killer second record “Cemetery Paths” is more of the good stuff, a record that could have been released 30 years ago and felt just right, yet it’s just bubbling to the surface now. The band—vocalist/guitarist TJ Humlinski, guitarist Marty Rytkonen (and Bindrune master himself), bassist/vocalist Chris Boris, drummer Chris Fulton—comes off as a group that gets together, annihilates beers, and creates stuff that resonates with their darkest tastes, and it makes this record such a pleasurable listen. Yeah, it’s plenty ugly and bloody, it wants to smash your skull in, but the music is so satisfying, it’s easy to ignore the blood and brains leaking out of your skull.
“Semita Cineris” is a quick intro cut built with acoustic guitars and cool synths, blending into “Horizons of Ash” that rips apart with mangling death. The playing is mashing and ridiculously heavy as growls slither through mud trails, and then a slower, haunting pace increases the misery, paving the way for an unhinged final assault. “Gag on Viscera” brings infernal guitars and a mashing attack, stomping guts and spattering blood. Leads swelter as the tempo pushes and pulls, a hazy power surge blasts, and the growls rumble before the track gasps its last. “Purulent Forms” smashes with fast, ferocious force, the growls digging into your guts, and then everything takes a more sinister turn. Elements explode as powerful leads go on a warpath, the growls menace, and a jarring blast spits bone. “Daylight Graves” is tense and steamy, the growls retching and regurgitating, and then the playing crawls through the murk. The growls engorge as the playing gets more intense, slowly disappearing into the night. “Cadaver Within” blasts with violence, growls curdle, and the track turns into a battering ram. Guitars spiral as the menace becomes a bigger factor, turning everything into a gross paste.
“Malefic Sepsis” mars with vicious growls and a rampaging pace, sinking blades between ribs. The atmosphere is menacing as evil growls boil blood in your veins, devastation peaks, and the violence leaves a film of ash behind. “Dragging the Dead” is punchy and relentless, the guitars scorching and baking flesh to the bone. Growls gurgle as the pace explodes anew, the sounds trudge dangerously, and everything is stomped into the ground. “Living Rot” carves into your brain, unleashing bruising and violent bursts, the humidity building and making breathing tougher. Leads warp and add to the heat as gutting death follows closely behind, ending abruptly. “Corpse of the King” blasts out, creating meaty punishment, and continually mauling with force. The guitar work mystifies as the playing rips apart and melts brains, driving with force into hell. “Cemetery Path” starts with rain soaking the ground, and then creepy creaks lead to doomy hell expanding, drilling and lurching as funeral bells chime. Things get muddier and uglier, growls spread relentless gloom, and that mercilessly battles into closer “Semita Pulveris,” a quick piece with mauling growls, guitars simmering and steaming, and gruesome forces dragging you deep into the darkness.
“Cemetery Paths” is a devastating, straight-ahead serving of classic death metal, and the horror and stench crawling off this thing should be enough to satisfy anyone who dines in this sub-genre’s decrepit halls. The Glorious Dead are well on their way to cementing their foothold in death’s annals, and more records like this one should go a long way toward establishing that. This is a menacing beast, one that will leave you beaten and battered yet strangely fulfilled in your pain.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/thegloriousdeadtc/
To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bindrunerecordings.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bindrunerecordings/
Meat Mead Metal 