Dawn of Demise, the irrepressible death dealers of Danish chunk, return after a quiet few years with their fourth LP of groove-driven brutality, entitled The Suffering. The boys have obviously been feeding on extra chunky hunks of beef and holding the potatoes, as The Suffering offers up another carnivorous serving of muscular, protein-fueled death in the tradition of the band’s solid previous work, including A Force Unstoppable and Rejoice in Vengeance. If Neanderthal’s had access to audio technology and the wonders of metal, Dawn of Demise would be at the top of their playlist. Their addictive brand of guttural simplicity and juicy grooves is basically leave-your-brain-at-the-door type fare that’s a refreshing change of pace to my usual death metal listening habits.
For those yet to be acquainted with the bludgeoning Dawn of Demise experience, think of the simplistic, bone pulverizing crush of Jungle Rot spliced with some slammy, New York flavored brutality and chunky sense of deathly groove synonymous with other closely related Danish acts, such as Illdisposed and Corpus Mortale. The formula is relatively straightforward, however, Dawn of Demise possess the songwriting smarts, headbangable riffs and gurgle-friendly brutality to appease less discerning death-heads who don’t mind jamming an album’s worth of low-brow guttural groove every now and then. Frankly, the band’s trend fucking, chest thumping thuggery has an endearing charm and a tight, fat sound that’s catchy and certainly heavy enough for some fun, no-frills entertainment. And the band sure know how to pen some hellishly catchy riffs!
Sporting a typically in-your-face combo of stampeding groove, potent, head-bobbing riffs and fiery aggression, opener “Sadistic Gratification” sets the tone early, confirming the Danish killing machine is back doing what they do best, keeping their unrelenting blueprint well and truly intact. Riff driven, mid-tempo pummels, fat crushing tones and guttural growls are the order of the day, decorated with those reliable steamroller grooves and occasional speedier flourishes and tasty solos. Striking with the subtlety of a caveman fist fight, “The Suffering” maintains a slow and heavy pace, lumbering forth in doomy style, rumbling with the immensity and purpose of a lone tank on a mission of destruction, crushing everything in its path. Although the mid-paced rumble and groove is almost too heavily relied upon at times, when Dawn of Demise shake things up and explore a wider palette of tempo variables and riff changes they are at their most appealing and effective. Tight riffing, solid drum work and more adventurous dynamics highlight the excellent “Predation,” a bruising number branded with low, muffled growls, gore soaked lyrics and blunt force blasts, recalling a less technical Dying Fetus. “A Malignant Condition” is another noteworthy tune built on a concrete foundation of jacked-up aggression, thrashy injections and ridiculously brutal, dirge-like grooves.
The songwriting is consistently solid across the album’s compact 37-minute run time, leaving little room for filler. However, despite the digestible catchiness of The Suffering and addictive groove-laced death Dawn of Demise execute so well, there’s nothing overly special or outstanding to raise the album above the band’s stronger efforts. In particular the band’s bread and butter mid-tempo gait could certainly benefit from more frequent bursts of speed. Meanwhile, the polished, chunky and compressed production is pretty much what to expect from Dawn of Demise, and aside from the excessive volume, the robust sound suits the band’s beefy brand of death well.
Getting in, fucking shit up and leaving snapped bones and skull fragments in their wake, Dawn of Demise make their long awaited return with a vengeance. Having always operated with a no-frills attitude and streetwise toughness, Dawn of Demise wisely stick to their strengths and execute with a minimum of fuss and tons of energy, maintaining their solid track record. So if you enjoy your Danish death extra chunky and laden with groove, wrap your ears around The Suffering.
Rating: Good!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Unique Leader Records
Websites: dawnofdemise.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/dawnofdemise
Releases Worldwide: August 26th, 2016
