Deathchain
Death gods
Pulverised Records
The first thing I'll say about this album is that it's a grower. First impressions are that it's yet another run-of-the-mill technical death metal blastfest, but after a few listens "Death gods" begins to redeem itself. There's nothing entirely new going on here at all, rather it's a collection of tunes that border on the oldschool Swedish sound and style and that manage to better the output of a great deal of the Swedish bands who have been embracing the revival over the last few years. That's not to say that Deathchain are jumping on the funeral cart -- they've been in the business of doing their own thing for the last decade and they've been damn good at it too. The bottom line on describing "Death gods" is that it will appeal to anyone hoping to find something a little more high-end in the current HM-2 explosion. The production does a good job of extracting maximum heaviness from all involved and, in the oversaturation within this genre right now, this can often be a deciding factor in purchase decisions. A bit more listener perseverance than usual required for this one but that's what elevates it from a 2 to a 7.
- John Norby
