Rating: 8.5
Country: Australia
Genre: Death Metal/Sludge/Doom
Record Label: Self Released
Release Date: 2009
Track list:
1. Burn Your Dead
2. Cannibal Abottoir
3. Centurion
4. Born in a Grave
5. Ritual Executions
6. Blood Angel
7. Death Metal Suicide
Total playing time 46:32
Band Website: The Dead |
The Dead - Ritual Executions
Adam Keleher - Guitars / Bass
Chris Morse - Drums
Mike Yee - Vokills
It took me a bloody long time to write this review. But for once I don't hold myself entirely responsible for that and would like to share the blame with the band. You see, The Dead who started off as a death metal band with stoner doom influences have now become more of a sludgy/stoner doom band with death metal influences. So how is this writer, a death metal head and a self-confessed fan of their work, who reviewed both their releases (the Self Titled album and Nocturnal Funeral EP) and even conducted an interview with them, supposed to take this? Several sleepless nights were spent with my face buried underneath a moist pillow. The thought of me being unable to appreciate their music ate me alive. I pondered over passing it on to Tim Meisenheimer, which for me was akin to giving up my girlfriend who had changed too much too soon to a best friend. Time passed. And guess what? I got used to it. Not just that, soon I found myself enjoying it.
One may not expect The Dead to stop evolving or experimenting but one thing that they can expect is strict adherence to underground values. Stoner/sludge doom or whatever, they have not really mellowed down; their music is just as nasty, repulsive and twisted, only in a slightly different sense. Slower and groovier yes, but it is also gloomier and more claustrophobic than ever before, probably even heavier. The death metal aspect of their music is not substituted, merely transformed, definitely retained. In fact after every long doom-dominated song you are likely to find a faster death metal-inclined song. Fuck that, almost every song has near equal proportion of those two styles. Between towering Sabbathian riffs and menacing doomy parts that would make you think that The Dead might have metamorphosed beyond recognition, you get expertly placed trademark sharp, twisted and catchy hooks of the kind that are evocative of Demilich. The transition is so fucking smooth, so natural, you never realise it until while humming a groovy riff you happen to see your severed limbs twitching on the floor, triggering a dramatic collapse.
You can't take it easy when listening to Ritual Executions. The ponderous prehistoric creature that you saw a moment earlier from afar harmlessly munching on herbs you will find suddenly looming over you, snapping its jaws menacingly, just a step away from stomping on you. The slower, groovy parts make you want to lie down somewhere and read a book or something whereas the faster death metal parts force you to run for your life. The latter is fine provided you are prepared for it; here it is so fucking deceptive, you don't know what to do. You kind of have to be on your guard and doing that for 46 minutes is frankly a bit exhausting, especially for a death head who isn't used to being very patient. Another aspect that doesn't fully work in the band's favour is the nebulous production. While it is suffocating and poisonous and potentially lethal, it blurs the music and makes the highly talented musicians sound clumsier than they actually are. I was particularly upset to witness the excellent incisive riff acrobatics of the title track with its effect diminished, which is like watching special firecrackers going off in thick fog.
The highlight of Ritual Executions, however, is the markedly different 10 minute last track, “Death Metal Suicide”. It is so cool, it deserves a paragraph of its own. The otherwise repressed hate palpable in Mike Yee's low muffled growls is absent, since this song has no vocals or fun death metal lyrics for that matter. With smooth heavy riffs playing to classy Godflesh-like beats, you think this can't get any better than this, but a minute and a half later you are forced to reconsider following the emergence of one of the most beautiful leads your ears will ever hear. Thin, elegant and brimming with emotional appeal, the longer it goes on, the deeper you fall in love with the lead; it just keeps getting better and better. Four minutes into the song a terrific Sabbath-ish riff is heard from your speakers and with it is heard muted cheering from inside your head. So agreeable, a couple of minutes pass by without notice. Oh, what is this, a riff subtly but surely pulling the music in a different and faster direction? That's ace mate, and before you realise it, things come full circle and now you have that original riff you could listen to forever. I have lost count of the number of times I have played this song, making sure that I listen to that stirring lead.
With Ritual Executions The Dead are likely to confuse fans of both the genres, being too morbid and extreme for doom and too slow and groovy for death metal. Smoke a joint to this and you will probably find your face melting away, and that won't be a hallucination. Whatever the reaction, the fact is The Dead have released something unique here that also happens to be fucking good. No one toys around with these mutually contradictory genres any more; those that did got redundant much before they all gave up. The Dead are evolving way too fast to allow that to happen and you may not hear something like Ritual Executions again. So don't blame me if you miss out on one of the best and most original releases of 2009.
January 31, 2010
|
