Black Breath "Slaves Beyond Death"

Yes, two posts on the same day - we will sleep well tonight in the realm of Eminent Silence - but both for a good cause after two of my favourite bands both dropped third releases within weeks of each other.  After the thoroughly entertaining "Hole Below" from Vastum earlier on today I move on now to the latest offering from Black Breath. Upon reading the press gubbins and various comments/reviews online you could be forgiven for thinking that Black Breath have evolved into an Entombed clone.

They have effectively and efficiently ripped off their old skin and left us with a more grotesque, rotting corpse of PURE filthy Death Metal. Bid farewell to any good time hardcore, punk or retro thrash vibes
Whatever HC lineage this band may have had has been totally eradicated.
This is 100% pure old school death metal with that classic Swedish sound.
Thankfully this is only partially true, I sat for three tracks to see how dramatic a change the sound was from "Sentenced To Life" before realising that it was more an absorption or incorporation of new ideas and sounds as opposed to any major shift in direction or delivery.  Whilst undeniably there are more death metal riffs and vibes flying around than if I was stood in the parking lot at MDF, Black Breath still retain their hardcore stylings with pride and can still deliver chops aplenty.  Structure wise it is a lot more death metal orientated but that isn't at the expense of any of their more traditional fare, the bruising chug of their urban tribal hearts still throbs, beastlike in its racing pulse.

The lead wizardry of "Seed Of Cain" with layered guitars to finish is a superb step forward and a fine example of the "difference" that is obvious on "Slaves Beyond Death" in comparison to earlier releases.  That having been said the build of "Arc Of Violence" that is built on foundations of pummeling chug soon gives way to those catchy (almost hooky) riffs that left "Sentenced to Life" ringing around your ears for days after hearing it.


The energy and electricity of the performance shines throughout "Slaves Beyond Death".  Black Breath are pissed off and want to share that with everyone and as they get older (and wiser?) they simply add more weapons to their arsenal and open up their already well established sound to a wider audience.  There is something for all on Black Breath's third and strongest release, for all the familiarity for their "core" fans there's just as much grime and darkness to please any fan of death metal whilst still providing rhythm aplenty for the thrashers out there to piss their pants to.

4/5

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