I’ve always enjoyed examining the nuances that differentiate the world’s various death metal scenes. There’s good ol’ American death metal, which originated as a violent strain of thrash. The Swedes’ adoption of melody in the mid 90s paved the way for countless bands whose shirts would grace the Hot Topic walls. And then there’s English death metal. The Brits’ take on the genre has always been coated by a layer of filth and anarchy. This is because many of the scene’s key players came of age in the heart of the UK82 movement. These leather clad, acne faced maniacs would in turn originate grindcore, which would in turn lead to some pretty punky death metal come the early 90s. This is where Benediction comes into the picture.
Despite never reaching the godlike status of fellow countrymen Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower, Benediction have maintained a respectable following during their 31 year existence. Their first three albums are death metal classics and they’re perhaps best known for introducing the world to future Napalm Death frontman, Barney Greenway. As the 90s went on, metal changed and so did Benediction. Longtime singer Dave Ingram left the band and was replaced by Dave Hunt. While Hunt is a respectable singer, the two albums made during his era were mediocre at best and uninspired at worst. It seemed the creative well had ran dry for Benediction. So when Ingram announced his triumphant return to the band last year, the hype was real!
Scriptures is the first Benediction album in 12 years and their first with Ingram in 22 years. I really underestimated their abilities this far in the game because this is a piping hot platter of pissed off punk metal if I’ve ever heard one. Tracks like “Scriptures in Scarlet”, “The Crooked Man”, and “In Our Hands, the Scars” are classic Benediction, filled to the brim with d-beats and mid tempo mosh riffs. Speaking of mosh riffs, I can’t get enough of the thrashtastic “Stormcrow”. There’s the occasional blastbeat laden rager to get the blood pumping (“Iterations of I”, “Rabid Carnality”, “Embrace the Kill”), but for the most part, Benediction sticks to what they do best and that’s mid paced death metal.
Now while Scriptures is a return to form in some parts, it’s not without its flaws. It features the same by the numbers modern production as most major label death metal bands today. It doesn’t completely neuter the songs, but I can’t help but wonder how deadlier this album could’ve been with an old school production. Furthermore, any death metal album that runs longer than 40 minutes is asking a lot of itself. I know its been sometime since we’ve heard from Ingram, but that doesn’t mean packing the CD with as much content as possible is the right thing. “Neverwhen” and “We Are Legion” are two songs that don’t do much of anything for me and take away from the intensity of the album’s first half.
So where do I rank Scriptures in Benediction’s catalog? It doesn’t come close to the brilliance of the first three albums, but it most definitely surpasses the last three. As of now, I’d rank it neck and neck with The Dreams You Dread (1995). It’s an enjoyable album for a spin or two. I’ll likely return to it as the years go by. I just hope a future release can transcend (the Rubicon) into greatness.
6 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx