ALBUM REVIEW: Cemetery Urn – Barbaric Retribution

Here I review the upcoming new album from Cemetery Urn, all the way from Australia, set for an August release via Hells Headbangers records!

1. Victim Defiled opens things straight up with some killer blast beats and Swedish Death Metal sounding riffs. A filthy level of distortion and guttural vocals create an absolutely brutal atmosphere. The frantic and speedy pace of the song is full of aggression which is great. I can already tell this album is going to be a real hard hitter. An awesome start to the album!
2. Ghost of Suicide follows up with straight to the point assault. The riffs are amazing with a really harsh tone, the bass punchy and the drums full of menacing attack. The vocals work excellently with the instrumentation giving a low-register morbid sounding growl. The full throttle tremolo picked attack is so characteristically Swedish, I love it. This band have a fantastic dirty sound that is also very audible and punctuated. The solo sounds incredible ditching melody for ferocious shredding!
3. Deathmask Preserver has a more melancholic and bleak introduction. The monolithic chugged parts sound awesome going into faster paced riffing once more. This song has a huge sound to it, that really is impressive. The chaotic attack of the song is absolutely monstrous, this could fuel any mosh pit into frenzy. Brilliant songwriting, execution and structure. There is a real dissonance and unsettling feel to the later parts of the song which I really enjoyed, it really uproots the listener from their comfort zone.
4. Down the Path of the Dead is just an assault on the ears from the off, this is not an insult. The bombastic blasting of the drums covered in ridiculously heavy riffs on the guitar and bass with some really catchy sounds used, shredding leads that are more melodic than earlier ones and really gruesome vocals. This song is one to check out for sure, for those who want just one to get an idea of the band. There is no forgiveness in the songwriting just a pummelling of the senses. There are some more blackened parts which sounded really nice and were also unpredictable. Brutal stuff.
5. Manifesto Putrefactio slows things down into more sombre territory, it sounds really dark and menacing giving a break from the fiercer styles of previous track. This has a really strong Bolt Thrower vibe to it, which some of you will know is one of my favourite bands so certainly a fantastic touch from my point of view. This song is absolutely daunting in sound with a truly crushing tone. After a while we are greeted once more with full scale assault and blasts, the band have a really unwavering level of hatred in their sound which is just killer to listen to, the sheer stamina of the music alone is really impressive, coupled with their gorgeously distorted tones and blasting drums makes for some excellent Death Metal.
6. Barbaric Retribution opens with some beautiful drum fills and chaotic riffing. The macabre attack of this song once more is done so well. This album has not lost any momentum or ferocity at all so far, it keeps blistering on and taking more unexpected turns, never becoming tiresome or repetitive. The band clearly are focusing on the sheer battery of this album and they succeed in their task very well. The riffs for this a really catchy and do certainly make you just want to bang your head to them.
7. Semblance of Malignant Mastery continues in the menacing and brutal attack. Plenty more grinding and demonic musicianship is used to create a really epic and old school vibe with some absolutely astonishing guttural vocals. The whole thing so far has had awesome production adding to the older sound of the band, really nice work. The song is nice and thrashy in parts but without becoming upbeat which sounds really great. The solo on this both melodic and speedy, but not over the top, it sounds the best of the solos to me so far. Another absolutely awesome song.
8. Putrefied Living Flesh has an awesome wide sound to it that really hits you hard. It is full of crazy riffs that just do not give way to anything, they are of course backed up by the insanely fast drumming and some nice little melodies. Once again the furiously growled vocals sound insane. This album has still just not ceased in being a totally punishing and relentless listen, which I have to respect the hell out of as an Extreme Metal musician. The slower parts to the riff really push a lot of force through the speakers and sound gnarly.
9. Tendrils of Defilement gives us one last bout of extremity although showing no signs of the album ending soon. The hideous guitar/bass section sounds really dark with no forgiveness from the drums either, the melodic leads sound gorgeous in contrast and it all works beautifully together with the tormented, demonic vocals. Throughout this album that has been nothing too flashy or polished, just raw and old school Death Metal for the fans of the genre in its original and intense form. This last song was absolutely great, along with all the others!

Regardless of them being from the opposite side of the planet, the classic Swedish Death Metal vibe is so strong in this band. The whole album is pure, nasty, filthy and down to Earth Death Metal. Another killer release from Hells Headbangers, one of the best USA labels the world has known. -8.5/10