2005-12-29
Swedish death has become one of the quintessential basics of the modern metal world, it has changed and re-structured the death metal genre, taking it as far as possible from the brutal and raw sounding American death metal of the early 90's, with bands such as In Flames and Dark Tranquilly leading the assault, and current success stories such as Soilwork continuing that barrage of melodic brutality.
Origin Blood follow that path, while inserting some surprising originality and innovation into that tried and tested formula, while inserting some modern thrash a-la The Haunted riffs into the mix.
The album's name, cover, and lyrical content suggest some original thought was put into this, has I not listened to the band I would have pegged this as an alternative rock release rather than an extreme metal one, and even when the death metal does start, it has this unique feel to it, it reminded me at times of Soilwork's last albums, but it feels less polished and even more unusual.
Intelligent is the word that comes to mind when listening to such tracks as S.o.r.r.o.w, it contains fine riffing, an interesting structure, and good melodic vocals tied in with the more old-school death growls.
The sound is another strong point, its clear and crisp, without sounding as overproduced as Soilwork Stabbing The Drama album, the fact that It seems the band members produced this album themselves speaks highly of the band once more.
The mass of backing growled vocals takes this to strange places at times, the use of several vocals in the opening tracks even gives it a somewhat punk edge, but in the complete context, it manages to sound original and different,
With some experience and further releases, we might be looking at the next thing in modern death metal, and Mr. Jakker Daw is truly a worthy release.
Alon Miasnikov
