Dääth – The Deceivers
Dääth – The Deceivers
Metal Blade Records
Release Date: 03/05/2024
Running Time: 44:00
Review by Rory Bentley
8.5/10
Just like last year, and probably the year before, Death Metal ain’t here to fuck around. My inbox has been full to the brim with top-shelf, elite tier scum since the start of the year. New bands are melting my brain with mind-shattering Tech Death (Hi Atrae Bilis) and seasoned pros are coming back with Progressive masterpieces that surpass their classic works (sup, Job For A Cowboy). So now mid-noughties technical sluggers Dääth have decided to get in on the action after a 14 year layoff. The question is are Eyal Levi and the boys cutting through a landscape of one dimensional Deathcore chancers with more tattoos than decent riffs, so can they still hang with the murderer’s row of stone cold killers that make up today’s scene?
Happily the answer is yes, absolutely. I remember finding Dääth a satisfyingly brutal listen back in the day. The riffs went hard, the vocals were beefy and the sonics were crisp; they were a little bit meat and potatoes but as someone who looks like a potato made out of meat I don’t have a problem with that. In the year of our lord 2024 the band have brought all the bells and whistles to the party and produced an awesome, dazzling and surprisingly flamboyant work that will hit the spot for old fans and new converts.
It’s immediately apparent in the Symphonic Metal unstoppable ghost train ride of ‘No Rest No End’ that kicks the album off. The riffs are hefty but catchy and there’s tons of melody amidst the chaos. By the track’s demented crescendo I was reminded of the more out-there moments on Devin Townsend’s “Empath” album or his mind-shattering exploration of heaviness on “Deconstruction”. They definitely weren’t doing this type of shit in the noughties!
The use of the orchestral parts throughout is particularly impressive, they don’t just do the dramatic Dimmu-Borgir style theatrics, but bolster the chunkier, more violent sections. The way the orchestra doubles up the riffing on ‘Hex Unending’ is absolute filth, for example, every bit as percussive and brutal as the guitars and drums. And good lord are the guitars and drums beastly on this thing, case in point the feral performance on ‘Ascension’ featuring the inhuman rapid-fire gutturals of Archspire’s Dean Lamb. If you can match that guy for intensity you must be doing something right.
The band even manage to make Scar Symmetry interesting to me on ‘The Silent Foray’ where Per Nilsson does a superb job guesting on the mic on a song that veers into weird, theremin-fuelled 50s sci-fi histrionics halfway through and somehow sounds great. A good chunk of these songs have famous guest collaborators on them, but perhaps the most on-the-money obvious pick is fellow shred machine Jeff Loomis of Nevermore and Arch Enemy fame, who is typically astonishing as he rips up the fretboard over the album’s most chaotic, technically dazzling composition yet.
In the same month Chris Barnes is about to shit out another abysmal Six Feet Under album that further tarnishes his legacy and tightens our collective sphincters with embarrassment, it’s great to hear an established act come back and show that an old dog can learn new tricks and easily hang with the best that modern Extreme Metal has to offer. “The Deceivers” is a huge highlight in a genre that is currently bursting with huge highlights. Hats off boys, now don’t make us wait another 14 years, yeah?
‘Ascension’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. No Rest No End
02. Hex Unending
03. Ascension
04. With Ill Desire
05. The Silent Foray
06. Unwelcome Return
07. Purified By Vengeance
08. Deserving of the Grave
09. Into Forgotten Dirt
LINE-UP:
Eyal Levi – Guitar
Sean Z – Vocals
Krimh – Drums
Rafael Trujillo – Lead Guitar
Jesse Zuretti – Orchestration, synth, guitar
David Marvuglio – bass
LINKS:
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