The late 2010s saw the advent of the OSDM (“old school death metal”) revival, in which a ton of kids who just a few years earlier blindly worshipped Municipal Waste, were now blindly worshipping Entombed. It wasn’t all bad. The music was slightly less cringe worthy. But much like the thrash revival that dominated the first half of the decade, it burned out pretty fast. Just to clarify, by “burned out” I don’t mean “became completely irrelevant”. The larger names of this movement are still making quite the splash. I just feel the movement has peaked creatively.
There’s a handful of these bands who are keeping the scene fresh and brutal. The latest releases from Molder and Cemetery Filth are among my top of the year so far. However, as far as hyped bands go, the ones who deserve said hype are far and few in between. This brings us to Skeletal Remains.
Formed in 2011, Skeletal Remains spent the last decade building their reputation as one of the revival’s biggest names. Opening for veteran acts like Hatebreed and The Black Dahlia Murder, as well as three pretty strong studio albums thus far, have certainly helped. Their last album, Devouring Mortality (2018), caught my ear upon its release for being one part Pestilence, one part Death, one part Cannibal Corpse…you get the idea. It was impressive to hear a bunch of dudes from California take the best of the Florida scene and voila! Was it my favorite album of 2018? Far from it, but I dug it nevertheless.
Their latest album, The Entombment of Chaos, keeps us in Florida, although this time, the focus is more on one particular band: Morbid Angel. Specifically, the focus is on MA’s third studio album, Covenant (1993). You can’t blame Skeletal Remains. Covenant is one of the genre’s greatest benchmarks in terms of darkness, brutality, and musical excellence. Shub Niggurath knows MA haven’t released released an album of its caliber since.
Unfortunately, Entombment falls short. The musicianship of past Skeletal Remains albums is intact. I’d be a liar if I told you the lead guitar work isn’t some of the finest you’ll hear all year. What Entombment lacks is inventiveness in both riffs and song structure. There are some exceptions. “Synthetic Impulse” is a violent, blood soaked display of brutality. “Tombs of Chaos” has an anthemic, almost Bloodbath-esque approach to it. And “Dissectasy” boasts the beefiest riffs of the whole album. But a few brief flashes of brilliance aren’t enough to save an otherwise blatant display of Covenant worship.
If its been a minute, dust off your old Covenant CD and listen to “Rapture”. Then listen to “Congregation of Flesh”. Okay, maybe that’s just me. How about “God of Emptiness”? You remember that one. Now check out “Eternal Hatred”. While the riffs aren’t note for note, the structure is most certainly present…too present. “Torturous Ways to Obliteration” and “Unfurling the Casket” also boast this dark and ominous, yet predictable, atmosphere.
As repetitive as Entombement is, it’s not a bad album. I’ve heard far worse in this revival. It’s just not what you’re going to see it hyped as. Yes, while every other trendsetting metal publication is bound to list this in their top releases of 2020, I’m going to stand out as the one sad sap who admitted he didn’t “get it” for the sake of honesty and journalistic integrity. Shame on me.
5 out of 10
Label: Century Media Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Death