Album Review

Score 7.9
Written by Erik Thomas
Published on 11/19/2007
Synopsis:

Listen up douchebags, instead of arguing in endless lashes in one of my deathcore reviews about what's heavy, what’s metal, what’s trendy, and telling me my taste in music sucks, why don’t you shut the fuck up, quit whining and feeling self important and listen to this CD and appreciate some truly killer old school death metal and have beer?

Review:

So this year, Evocation has delivered the pre-eminent Entombed tribute, and the always reliable Fleshcrawl have again pretty much delivered a Dismember cover album. So where’s the love for Unleashed and Grave, the other Stockholm luminaries who helped shape a genre?

Here, fuckers: Enter Sweden’s Nominon.

This long running act has been toiling away in the shadow of their peers since 1999, but with the leveling off of both Dismember and Entombed, here they come with only their third album of classic, rumbling Stockholm death metal, that forsakes the subtle moods and atmospheres of Entombed and the razor sharp harmonies of Dismember in favour of some dirtier, chunky, Sunlight Studio drenched groove and blast that imbues Unleashed’s early work as well as Grave’s underrated You’ll Never See…

From the opening buzz and gallop of “Release in Death”, through the classic pace of “Arcanum” (if you don’t hear Unleashed at 2:30, just give up on metal already), the ominous rumble of “Black Chapel”, slightly blackened furor (think Necrophobic) of “Ebola”, to the bottom end Grave-like groove of “Tabula Rasa” and crawl of “Bane Appetite” (which does serve up some Entombed like scrawling), all the solid tracks are thickly rendered with an awesomely mid range buzz and hum of their peers' classic work and some hellish black/death metal snarls from Daniel Garptoft.

The US version of this release has a live version of "Condemned to Die" from the band's previous Recremation album, but it's as you’d expect from a live death metal recording that relies on mid range--a muddy, sloppy mess. Still, that’s a small black mark on what's otherwise 10 tracks of superb Stockholm death metal done perfectly and with just the right balance of homage and personal touch that, along with Evocation's Tales From the Tomb,  make it a must have for fans of any of the Swedish classics.



Sauron's Avatar
Sauron | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
If your going to make such a bold claim you have to expect that the chronic arguers are going to appear eventually, it's really inevitable. As for the band I've never heard any of the bands you've mentioned but i'm liking this.
Unknown Metalhead
Erik Thomas | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Im not even responding to to you folks that lost your sense of humor and cant see my sarcasm in my opening rant...must have hit a nerve. Oh yeah IDW ? yup-still the heaviest album ive heard :)
Unknown Metalhead
Dan | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
You take yourself way too seriously. And by addressing lashes in this way, all you do is let everyone know that it effects you personally (which is exactly what they want). Whine and review, or review...
Unknown Metalhead
Erik Thomas | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Aaron-pretty sure that isnt whining but either way the IDW is STILL the heaviest album ive heard this year-do i need to emphasize the I part?
Unknown Metalhead
Aaron | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Quit being such a whiny little bitch and just review the albums! You asked for it when you made a bet with the readers that the album was the "heaviest thing you've heard"
Unknown Metalhead
Stiffy | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Don't you sass me, Erik!
Unknown Metalhead
Chris Chellis | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Good review, Erik. With all the good death metal that has been released this year, this is still one of the best.
Irukandji's Avatar
Irukandji | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Ha! I laugh... good review though; also Grave and Unleashed... not so hot.
Zaibach's Avatar
Zaibach | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Really not my kind of DM. The vocal bothers me and I don't like their sound much. Same with their guitar riffs, my ears found them boring and uninspired.
Unknown Metalhead
Sculpy | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Fleshcrawl are so unfathomably superior to Dismember it ain't even funny.
Unknown Metalhead
semaJ | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Unfortunately for us all, the real morons will soon appear from the bushes and say something idiotic about music, metal, life and everything. Nominon puts out some great metal, that's just the way it is. Fuck all the livin' at daddy's place 30 and 40 year olds who want to stir the fucking pot and pick fights with people they can't even look in the eye while worrying about disease and dreaming of women they can't have. Regardless, metal it up and quit bitching.
James's Avatar
James | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Unfortunately for your opener, I enjoy arguing about your incredibly shitty deathcore reviews. Haha just kidding
Unknown Metalhead
JW Pepper | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Yes, Zack, you do. Grave and Unleashed kick major ass, although I do prefer Entombed and Dismember. This Nominon band is pretty fucking sweet.
Zach's Avatar
Zach  | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
Nice rant Erik, pretty funny. I'll have to check this out, but I probably need to acquire some Grave or Unleashed first.
Unknown Metalhead
hermitspancho | posted on 11/2007 | Reply
listened to black chapel on their web-site and got to get this album soon !