I’ve been burnt out on Swedish death metal for far too long. I say this as someone who was obsessed with At the Gates back in high school. Over the past 5 years or so, the HM-2 pedal has been misused and abused by so many American hardcore kids turned “OSDM aficionados” (a fancy term for “hipsters”). I’ve had no desire to check out any bands channeling the Swedish sound, until today.
What’s this? A Swedish death metal band consisting of Swedish death metal veterans? Why yes it is. Featuring members of Crematory and Paganizer, among other projects, Stass is a supergroup that’s taking the HM-2 driven sounds of their home country back to their roots. There’s no fancy efforts at modernization. There’s no fusion of death metal with hardcore or crust, as per the flavor of the day. Songs of Flesh and Decay is pure Swedish death with touches of thrash and melody throughout.
The album opens in ripping fashion. “Dreams of Rotting Flesh” is a no nonsense old school banger that recalls early At the Gates and Entombed. There are flashes of melody throughout, particularly in the lead guitar work, though without fully diving into melo death territory. Although as the album goes on, we learn that they can dive into said territory rather well. Contrasting the sinister rage of “Beneath a Darkened Moon” and “Hatchet Lover” are mid tempo thrashers like “As the Seasons Bleach Your Bones” and “Skin That Peels Away”. Filled with mosh friendly riffs and blazing hot guitar solos, the album’s second half has more in common with later At the Gates and Heartwork era Carcass.
The only thing that holds Songs of Flesh and Decay back is its dismal production. At first I thought it was me. After all, when files are compressed to accommodate Spotify, they lose much of the dynamic range that would be found on a physical release. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If there is bass on this album, I can’t hear it at all. Furthermore, the drums sound thin as paper, as do some of the riffs throughout.
Songs of Flesh and Decay is the first example of the year of just how important production is. With the right ears behind the board, this could’ve been a homerun of an album. The songs and musicianship within are very strong. Instead, Stass is stranded on second base, hoping to steal third behind the pitcher’s back.
5 out of 10
Label: Emanzipation Productions
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Entombed, Dismember, At the Gates