ALBUM REVIEW: Massacre – Resurgence

Floridian Death Metal legends MASSACRE are back with their 4th album. Set for release via Nuclear Blast Records on October 22nd.

A minute of synths open the album with what feels more like a cinematic horror score than a bland introduction, setting the mood for lurking dread lying in wait. Doomy riffs bring us in with one hell of a groove atop chiming cymbals, the band seemingly reintroducing themselves after a 7 year wait since their last record. Jumping from a slower crawl into thrashing, mid-tempo Death Metal with a crushing production, the real carnage begins. Kam’s hideously bellowed vocals are instantly recognisable with the snarl and guttural styles meeting in the middle for a superbly grotesque delivery while the guitars blend savage 90s Death Metal riffing with often melodic lead work that adds a surprisingly soulful perspective to the music. The drums sit sort of between Death Metal blasts (as one would expect) and those classic thrashing beats that give one hell of a bite to the energy of the music. Thus far, it seems their return is in triumph and power has not been lost in their dormancy.

One would think 3 guitarists for old school Death Metal might be overkill, but here we see them work in unison, alongside the bassist to deliver a daunting and tight sound that isn’t overly explorative nor does it fragment, rather often staying united for a full show of force. While not overly melodic in the riffs, there is that harmonious flare that thankfully doesn’t spoil the heaviness of the record but does seem an interesting choice for a band of this ilk. Overall we often sit at a comfortable tempo the allow chugging riffs and hard-hitting drums to carry the weighty songs in a shamelessly old school manner. Why reinvent the wheel when you were a part of its creation? Thankfully the spice of the solos and the meaty production ensure that these bludgeoning sections while often long, do not become stagnant. There is still dynamic and the record flows with an ease, presumably achieved when you take something that has been around a long time and add young talents whom excel in producing killer Death Metal.

Anticipation has swelled around such a fabled band unleashing a new album for the first time in 7 years and I must say it delivers. If you want a brand new form of Death Metal, this isn’t going to be for you, as Massacre are not a brand new band. If, however, like the rest of us, what you seek is a new slab of thrashy, gritty and gnarly old school Death Metal, then rest assured you will get that here. A titanic opus of Lovecraftian Death Metal horror from the beyond that must be witnessed in all of its eldritch glory.

* How cool is that Nekromantik t-shirt Cam is wearing?! “Left for good. Took the corpse.”