“As many of us learned from magnets or, for an elite few, Paula Abdul and her weird rapping cartoon cat companion, opposites have the ability to attract if they’re strong enough. As we learned from making friends, joining any voluntary association, or reading Plato’s Timaeus, like knows and seeks out like at a high rate too. And Czech Swedeath merchants Brutally Deceased are going for this principle with their third record, Satanic Corpse.” Oh Paula, you came and you found us some Swede-death….
“I like to imagine the absurdly prolific Rogga Johansson’s inner monologue to be similar to Pinky and the Brain’s introductory bit, with him eating whatever the Swedes eat for breakfast, wondering ‘what should I do today?’ and answering, ‘the same thing you do every day, Rogga: write and record a death metal record.’ Our hero would then draw a band name from a hat or make one up depending on his mood, and by lunchtime would have written about seven songs and called up whoever was needed to complete the lineup. Johansson & Speckmann had clearly been drawn from what must be a very large hat by now, and before the traditional Swedish dinner bell rang that day, Edge of the Abyss was born.” Pinky and the Brawn.
“Press releases are normally a bit dull. Trying to find a middle ground between eye-catching and safe, they generally say little of value. Such is the case with German melo-death maestros Dawn of Disease and their third full-length Worship the Grave. Apparently Swedish death metal is “a huge influence” on the band, but they bring their own sound to the proceedings. Their own sound is, apparently, at once melodic and abrasive with catchy riffs and plenty of extreme drumming.” Promo releases are a strange beast.
“Before diving into the death metal that obviously flies under a banner like Coffin Lust, let’s briefly talk Cinderella. Whether or not you’ve had the feeling of being utterly awestruck by a woman to the point where you’d be willing to run around like a lunatic with a shoe for an hour and change trying to get her name and number the day after, I’m sure the sentiment is appreciated. With music you can have a corresponding experience, hearing a song that makes a huge impression that forces you to seek it out, along with the record it came from.” If the shoe fits, hammer smash it!
“Whoa, it’s quite a surprise to see a new Interment album in 2016 considering they were a contemporary of Entombed and Dismember back in the early days of the Swede-core death scene, but didn’t release anything until 2010. Now we get the erstwhile followup a scant 6 years later? Major machinations are clearly underway at Camp Interment and their production schedule is definitely ramping up!” Releases may be slow, but death they certainly know.
“Newcastle (upon Tyne [UK]) based Horrified released their debut about a year and a half ago, and the AMG staff collectively shrugged. A throwback death metal record with some neat riffs and an authentic sound, it lacked in both originality and execution, and was summarily dismissed by yours truly. But wise old man of the AMG staff, Al Kikuras saw something in the band, a certain rough charm and attitude that’s missing in the majority of retro-death.” Al knows retro-death.
“One lesson I’ve learned in my tenure at AMG is that burgers can be successfully compared to just about anything. Just like burgers are a great plan for a meal in a pinch, they also work in that annoying pinch when a lede just refuses to come to mind. I think we can largely agree that listening to Swe-death records is like the endless quest for the perfect burger.” In dining, as in death, it’s the seasoning that counts.
“It’s been a while since I’ve reached into the Grymm Grab Bag™ to review my next band, and this review doesn’t change that. Y’see, sometimes, like with Tom of… err, TOMB of Finland, the name alone just screams to be reviewed. This case, though, it was AMG himself saying, “Hey, Mr. Dan Swanö produced this.” Dan is a very talented mult-instrumentalist, a gifted songwriter, and the producer of some of my favorite records. So, I like Dan. And Dan produced Malevolence, the second album by German death metal machine, Rogash. When the Boss asks you to check something out, then damnit, you listen!” Grymm is working for the Man.
“First appearances can be and often are misleading. Take Death Mask Replica, for example, the fourth release by Swedish band Bombs of Hades. After noticing the Captain Beefheart-spoofing title and marveling at the tastefully grim and artsy cover, one might expect some kind of experimental blackened death metal in the vein of Chaos Echœs to be hidden within.” Of course, you’d be totally wrong and embarrass yourself.
“I presume most of you guessed Bastard Grave’s chosen genre without listening to a second of their music, but in case you’re an extreme metal newbie (welcome! Take a seat, have some cake! Don’t mind the skulls, they’re not real. Probably), this extract from their promo sheet will give you a hint: “With the opening blare on the album starting off with the all-too-familiar guitar feedback reminiscent of a vague Entombed-ish trademark, it is easy to tell What Lies Beyond is heavily laced with the murderous HM-2 destruction and with absolutely no mercy.” That’s right, old school Swedish death metal that’s so devoid of new ideas, even the label thinks it’s generic!” Let’s get rote to the point, shall we?
