Down Among The Dead Men - Down Among The Dead Men
Down Among the Dead Men is a band that I've been keeping very close tabs on since it's unveiling earlier this year. Collaborations between fantastic death metal musicians are more common than stupid outbursts from Dave Mustaine, but they mostly come across as rather lackluster efforts that rely solely on the names involved than the actual quality of the music they produce. And yet every single time such a project is announced we all end up telling ourselves that this one isn't going to be shit because fuck, how could a band featuring X, Y and Z fail? So after many disappointments - which shall remain nameless to ensure that I don't get murdered by death metal fanwankers - it's a joyous relief to finally have such an album that fully utilises the talents of it's band members. Rogga Johansson is the brainchild behind some frankly incredible bands such as Ribspreader, Paganizer and Bone Gnawer and Dave Ingram (no relation, honest) fronted fucking Benediction and Bolt Thrower so to be blunt... their résumés are the cream of the crop. Between them they've written and/or performed on some of the greatest albums that the genre has to offer, and to my utmost shock they've managed to create another classic with Down Among the Dead Men.
First thing I have to mention is the track lengths. I know I bring this up in a lot of my reviews, but justification for you song length is vital to an enjoyable listening experience no matter what (sub)genre of music you play. Down Among the Dead Men have nailed it perfectly by giving us thirteen tracks that are all under three minutes except for two, and a further three of those tracks are under two minutes. Try saying that while drunk. Needless to say, this is exactly what death metal requires and it's perplexing to see a large majority of modern bands putting out albums where every single track breaches the four or five minute mark to cover up the fact that they can't write good riffs. But there's more to this than initially meets the eye - DATDM have gone a step further and employed what I can only call a 'metric fuckton of punk influences' into their sound which in itself partially explains the track lengths beyond a typical quip about great song pacing.
Punk undertones in metal seem to have gone down the shitter in recent years with only a select few bands managing to mix any subtle hardcore influences into their style to great effect, and while DATDM are most certainly a death metal band first and foremost, anybody who has ever listened to the likes of Discharge, Doom or Amebix will immediately notice a very prominent presence of hardcore punk in the band's sound. The tracks are aggressive slabs of an almost forgotten practice of old school death metal that are somewhat reminiscent of the members' earlier works with Benediction and Ribspreader, with definite and present grooves as opposed to the overly downtuned technical wankery that modern death metal likes so much. This isn't to say that the album sounds like a Dingram-Johansson retrospective though - you could probably draw just as reasonable a comparison with the likes of Monolith, Napalm Death or even Cerebral Fix in terms of musical composition and approach. In short, it's fucking stellar and should be considered the apex of death metal-hardcore punk crossover albums. Dave sounds mightier than he ever has before and probably deserves and entire review to himself for his work here, Rogga is spot on from the get-go in terms of his composition or performance and session drummer Erik Bevenrud is as tight and precise as they come. One thing I feel that I should mention is that Dave's son Oliver handles some vocal duties on the title track like a true sport, which is just.... that's just fantastic, it really is. Giving your ten year old son such an opportunity is fatherly love at it's best. To top this all off, the production is splendid - which must have pleased Dave since the production on the last full length he featured on, Downlord's 2007 album Random Dictionary of the Damned, sounded like a whirlwind of shit. And that's putting it politely. Whereas here, everything is crisp and clear while still keeping a stance of 'fuck-over-producing-albums' which is another of the record's greatest assets.
I'm finding myself losing focus and trailing off as I harp on about this album, so I'm going to wrap things up. Simply put, Down Among the Dead Men's self-titled debut... it has no flaws. None. I never thought I'd say this, but this album is easily on par with Onslaught's VI as one of the best album's in metal. I don't say this out of fanboyism, nepotism, sleep deprivation or even laziness or boredom. I'm saying this out of pure, honest observation. I can't write any review that will do tracks like The Stones Lament, A Handful of Dust or the crushing title track any modicum of justice while still retaining what little credibility I have left as a critic. This is exactly what death metal and punk should sound like together, and it's set the fucking standard. Musical craftsmanship simply cannot get much better than this.
I'm aghast... I never dreamed that this album would be this good. I need to lie down.
First thing I have to mention is the track lengths. I know I bring this up in a lot of my reviews, but justification for you song length is vital to an enjoyable listening experience no matter what (sub)genre of music you play. Down Among the Dead Men have nailed it perfectly by giving us thirteen tracks that are all under three minutes except for two, and a further three of those tracks are under two minutes. Try saying that while drunk. Needless to say, this is exactly what death metal requires and it's perplexing to see a large majority of modern bands putting out albums where every single track breaches the four or five minute mark to cover up the fact that they can't write good riffs. But there's more to this than initially meets the eye - DATDM have gone a step further and employed what I can only call a 'metric fuckton of punk influences' into their sound which in itself partially explains the track lengths beyond a typical quip about great song pacing.
Punk undertones in metal seem to have gone down the shitter in recent years with only a select few bands managing to mix any subtle hardcore influences into their style to great effect, and while DATDM are most certainly a death metal band first and foremost, anybody who has ever listened to the likes of Discharge, Doom or Amebix will immediately notice a very prominent presence of hardcore punk in the band's sound. The tracks are aggressive slabs of an almost forgotten practice of old school death metal that are somewhat reminiscent of the members' earlier works with Benediction and Ribspreader, with definite and present grooves as opposed to the overly downtuned technical wankery that modern death metal likes so much. This isn't to say that the album sounds like a Dingram-Johansson retrospective though - you could probably draw just as reasonable a comparison with the likes of Monolith, Napalm Death or even Cerebral Fix in terms of musical composition and approach. In short, it's fucking stellar and should be considered the apex of death metal-hardcore punk crossover albums. Dave sounds mightier than he ever has before and probably deserves and entire review to himself for his work here, Rogga is spot on from the get-go in terms of his composition or performance and session drummer Erik Bevenrud is as tight and precise as they come. One thing I feel that I should mention is that Dave's son Oliver handles some vocal duties on the title track like a true sport, which is just.... that's just fantastic, it really is. Giving your ten year old son such an opportunity is fatherly love at it's best. To top this all off, the production is splendid - which must have pleased Dave since the production on the last full length he featured on, Downlord's 2007 album Random Dictionary of the Damned, sounded like a whirlwind of shit. And that's putting it politely. Whereas here, everything is crisp and clear while still keeping a stance of 'fuck-over-producing-albums' which is another of the record's greatest assets.
I'm finding myself losing focus and trailing off as I harp on about this album, so I'm going to wrap things up. Simply put, Down Among the Dead Men's self-titled debut... it has no flaws. None. I never thought I'd say this, but this album is easily on par with Onslaught's VI as one of the best album's in metal. I don't say this out of fanboyism, nepotism, sleep deprivation or even laziness or boredom. I'm saying this out of pure, honest observation. I can't write any review that will do tracks like The Stones Lament, A Handful of Dust or the crushing title track any modicum of justice while still retaining what little credibility I have left as a critic. This is exactly what death metal and punk should sound like together, and it's set the fucking standard. Musical craftsmanship simply cannot get much better than this.
I'm aghast... I never dreamed that this album would be this good. I need to lie down.
1. Draconian Rage
2. The Doomsday Manuscript
3. As Leeches Gorge
4. The Epoch
5. Adolescence Of Time
6. Bones Of Contention
7. Dead Man's Switch
8. A Handful Of Dust
9. Infernal Nexus
10. Dead Men Diaries
11. Venus Mantrap
12. Down Among The Dead Men
13. The Stones Lament
2. The Doomsday Manuscript
3. As Leeches Gorge
4. The Epoch
5. Adolescence Of Time
6. Bones Of Contention
7. Dead Man's Switch
8. A Handful Of Dust
9. Infernal Nexus
10. Dead Men Diaries
11. Venus Mantrap
12. Down Among The Dead Men
13. The Stones Lament
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Oct 22, 2013
Oct 22, 2013
Next review:
Iskalde Morket - Misery Becomes Lethargic
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