Opprobrium - The Fallen Entities

Opprobrium are a two piece death metal outfit hailing from Louisiana, United States. Formed in 1986 as Incubus, the band are no new comers to the world of death metal. Having gone through a multitude of lineup changes the band has had its two consistent members, Moyses M. Howard and his brother Francis at the forefront of the writing process. 2019 sees the brothers releasing their 6th studio album.

Having over 3 decades worth of experience you'd expect the band to be pretty in tune with how to write death metal. "The Fallen Entities" their latest effort is no short coming in staying true to the old school death metal roots. But is it any good? Well let's get to that.

The record starts off strong with 'Dark Days, Dark Times'. An absolute belter of a song with some crushing old school riffing, a super punky and incredibly catchy chorus and vocals that can't help but harken back to late 80s Chuck Shuldiner. The guitars throughout the album sound like they're in some form of standard tuning be it E standard or D but they prove the point you don't need to tune low to be crushingly brutal. As I've said the vocals remind me of "Leprosy", "Spiritual Healing" era Chuck, which for me is a massive bonus as this is my favourite era of Death. The drums are punchy yet not too overly complex in order to keep the main focus on the guitars and vocals. The record as a whole continues in the vein of the first track with catchy riffs and punishing vocals. The songs overall are well rounded and thought out but there's one big problem this record has.

And thats that it just doesn't live up to the bands previous efforts. While this album is a solid outing of death metal goodness, it pales in comparison to 1990s masterpiece that is "Beyond The Unknown". When compared to that record this one comes across as bland and simplified. Granted we are talking about comparing two albums nearly 30 years apart, but something just feels lacking, be it the songwriting or the spirit of proper death metal.

Either way this record on its own stands true and is still a great album by a fantastic band who are more than worth your time looking into.

Standout tracks for me are 'Dark Days, Dark Times', 'The Fallen Entities' and 'In Danger'.

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1. Dark Days, Dark Times
2. Creations That Affect
3. Wicked Mysterious Events
4. The Fallen Entities
5. Throughout The Centuries
6. Turmoil Under The Sun
7. In Danger
8. Obstructive Behaviour