Decomposed - Decomposed

I'd been following Sweden's newest death metal massacre Decomposed ever since the release of their 2011 demo, ''Stench Of Death'', another fine slab of punk soaked chainsaw driven Swedish death metal which unfortunately didn't get enough attention as it should have gotten. With the release of their eponymous debut full-length, I can see that they've grown even more mature, and although their style isn't extremely distinguished, few old schoolers will dislike the festering crunch and crust of this maniacal chainsaw assault. Decomposed present surprisingly heavy, cadaverous Swedeath that draw influences heavily from Dismember, Entombed, God Macabre etc, and with a few merits of its own, the music becomes rich in sparse innovations and some twisted melodies, surpassing the boundaries of boredom and repetitivity, forming a rather lasting current of rotten goodness.

I do see some maturity compared to the demo, with a more professional sounding production quality and sturdier riffs, but besides those, it's obvious that they're not changing the basis of their sound, sticking to the classic Swedeath formula for the entire duration of the album. The great thing about ''Decomposed'' is that even though the riffs are nothing new, they're ridiculously catchy and groovy, and besides typical grinding power chord incursions, atmosphere is also a favored aspect, as you can notice from the frequent usage of spectral tremolos and a cavernous, sonorous atmosphere inundating the riffs. That being said, I'll also have to add that there's a threshold of murky, doom laden riffs amongst the bloodier ones doused in subtle horror. To be completely honest, I've never found the crushing, hardcore-tinged bit of Swedish death metal too pleasuring as they sound rather dull and too copious at times, but I've certainly enjoyed creepy melodies and Autopsy-esque song writing aesthetics to the fullest, and ''Decomposed'' mostly excels in inserting a healthy dose of mid paced gloom horror, giving shape to the macabre figure on the album cover.

That's right. This album is a blood chilling experience throughout, simply not excluding the melodious moans for a single minute. Despite its terrifying approach, ''Decomposed'' still has to maintain its muscular balance, as it is, after all, an aggressive death metal album. Brawny chord progressions are dotted with thrash, and they sound especially menacing and crusty with the violent percussion occurring behind, but still channeling inside a resonant sphere. The drums sort of drown in the production and get smothered, but it's only natural in order for the album to preserve the ambiance, and the vocals are another great touch; muffled groans and growls with plenty of chunk and density to them, fitting right into the murky aura of the album. The album is resonant, but not as thrilling as say the debut of Horrendous, ''The Chills'', a slightly more engulfing experience. That pretty much covers all the aspects and elements of ''Decomposed'' as they are unfortunately not plenty in variety, but that doesn't stop them from being high quality. Heads will bob as tracks like ''Infernal Torment'', ''Stench Of Death'' or even ''Ceremonial Slaughter'' lay waste to the earth, but I also loved the ghastly horror melodies on ''Macabre Vision'' or the over six-minute grand finale, ''Ethereal Landscapes'', a sanguinary Swedeath/Autopsy magnum opus of doomy beauty.

Decomposed's self titled debut full-length impressed me beyond belief and now, it's firmly placed in the ''Hope Of Death'' rack of my collection, along with Horrendous, Tormented, Funebrarum and alike. Many complain that the scene is over-saturated with copious amounts of Entombed/Dismember worshipers, but I say nay, for this scene is yet to be befouled by many, many other blistering beasts that will come out of nowhere. Come, we await your presence.

Highlights:
Ethereal Landscapes
Stench Of Death
Ceremonial Slaughter


Rating: 87%


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