2004-05-23
At the farthest reaches of the metal genre, lies Grind-core, initiated by such primitive origins as Napalm Death and Carcass, and later such bands as Terrorizer.
The genre marches on, carried to extremities with bands like Nasum and Lock Up, to a lesser degree.
Deathbound are at the highest end of this punishing musical extremities,
Hyper-fast drumming, combined with occasional fast, occasional slower riffs, distorted bass, and deep, monstrous growled vocals, these guys take it to the limit.
The band hails from Finland, home to a high number of melodic metal bands, and to such melodic death metallers as Children Of Bodom, Deathbound demonstrate that Finland has some darker facets hidden within.
Very few tracks are longer than the three minute limit, some no more than two and a half, all of them punishing and fast,
The band makes some smart use of movie samples, usually opening the tracks, and at times, as in the powerful As Reluctance Grows are used in a mid-section to accentuate its power and brutality.
Benefiting from a raw, yet very clear sound, band members show off their considerable technical prowess and give off a highly professional feel, the drummer, in particular, has some amazing bits, apart from the furious blast beats (and there's a lot of them), the end of track four sees him doing some mean snare work, and I bet he ends up a live show by passing out…
Kai's vocals are deep, monstrous sounding, yet with quite clear intonation, which makes his delivery easier to sallow, he is the perfect vehicle for the band, driving their already extreme music into the heavier reaches of grind oriented death metal.
Stand out tracks are definitely track four, As Reluctance Grows, and probably Track two, Without Pain.
This is no light music, extreme as extreme gets, the band delivers the good, no doubt about it, the band delivers the GOODS, no doubt about it, the question is – can you
take the punishment? I sure could, and enjoyed it.
Alon Miasnikov
