Deathchain - Cult of Death
Dynamic Arts Records - DYN023 - 23 May 2007
By George Grant
Leading up to their newest release Finland’s
Deathchain made a big member change in the form of their vocalist. Gone is Rotten from the roster and in his place comes KJ Khaos. Such shakeup in the band and with the voice of the band no less, can be very damaging, and on
Cult of Death this is exactly what happened.
Boring, bland, monotonous; all of these adjectives can be applied to
Deathchain’s newest release. Their prominent thrash influences have taken a back seat to a more death metal focused release. The result is a very safe and unrewarding listen. The band usually stays within a mid paced speed on the album which makes the use of rhythms all that more important. Unfortunately,
Deathchain rarely varies the rhythms throughout the songs. Look no further than
'Serpent of the Deep' and the closing title track for the repetitious nature of this album. Even when they do pick up the speed the riffs lack any depth to save the earlier moments. Then of course there is the new vocalist, KJ Khaos. His vocals, much like the music, are very one-dimensional, staying within the middle range and rarely adding any accents. This of course may not be purely his fault. Had he been offered a more varied and interesting music it could have allowed for more experimentation, but what’s done is done.
Musically,
Cult of Death comes off as less technical and brutal version of modern
Behemoth. There’s also a
Morbid Angel influence on some of the lead guitar parts, but they are few and far between. To make matters worse the band has cased the weak material in a sleek and sterile production. The effect sucks even more life out of the material. Ultimately, when all these elements combine
Deathchain have produced a lame and uninspired album that isn’t worth a closer look.
Official Deathchain Website
Official Deathchain Myspace
Official Dynamic Arts Records Website
