"Sworn Vengeance" is the fourth full-length from Dutch death metal act Severe Torture (their second for Earache Records), and to be completely up front with you I almost didn't even bother listening to it. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Severe Torture's work in the past, but I don't actively keep up with the death metal genre anymore. While I know there's some solid shit out there these days, I just tend to stick to my old school classics as far as this realm is concerned. But I was cleaning up and sorting through some CD's the other day and when I came across this one I happened to spot a little note on the back about there being a limited edition first pressing that includes a Cro-Mags cover ("It's the Limit", if you care), so I figured I had to give this fuckin' thing a shot.
When you're faced with an album called "Sworn Vengeance" from a band called Severe Torture, especially one that includes song titles like "Fight Something" and "Buried Hatchet", you can't help but want the thing to kick ass, you know? Of course, I wouldn't call this a modern classic or anything like that, but as expected based on the group's past work this is a solid offering that sees the band continuing to distance themselves from the heavily Cannibal Corpse-inspired characteristics of their earliest output. Of course you can expect gruff, low growls and a good amount of gnashing blasts, but they're slowing things down a touch more these days, and more often, which pays off big time in my book because the riffs get a little more breathing room: And that means more meatiness, more atmosphere, and—in the best case scenarios—more feeling. Is it groundbreaking in any way? Fuck no. But the riffs are strong (there are some killer slow/midpaced winding dissonant runs throughout), the songs are strong, and the recording's strong, so that makes for a perfectly better than average death metal record.
Oh, and the Cro-Mags cover? Not bad, not bad. The vocal performance is pretty damn cool. They follow it up with a cover of Entombed's "Eyemaster" as well. Good stuff.
Severe Torture "Countless Villains"
Severe Torture "Buried Hatchet"
Comments
I don’t listen to straight up death metal as much these days, mostly due to my on going search for good black metal, avant-garde, and technical-oriented metal, but I have to say that I’m digging this. Especially “Countless Villains”, love the mid-paced feel and killer opening riff. I agree 100% when you say that slowing down gives this disc more weight and feeling. Also like the shouted vocals midway through “Buried Hatchet”.
12.18.2007 | By Redeemer
Good stuff. I still prefer “Fall of Despised” though
Anyone into “avant-garde” stuff: check out Portal from Australia
12.19.2007 | By Anonymous
Nice backing vocals and solo work, hell the entire guitar tone is good. The snare? Not so much…
12.19.2007 | By Johnny
Portal is great. Found it on Teufelstomb.
12.19.2007 | By Anonymous
Yeah, man, I keep wanting death metal to come up with something *new*, you know? But I agree, this is pretty solid. However, there’s better meat-and-potatoes death metal out this year - try the new Aeon and Impaled. The latter is especially killer, a big step up.
12.19.2007 | By Invisible Oranges