Tuesday, 31 January 2017

ALBUM REVIEW: Deserted Fear - "Dead Shores Rising"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full  Length
Date Released: 27/01/2017
Label: Century Media Records



This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!


Dead Shores Rising” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Intro
2). The Fall of Leaden Skies
3). The Edge of Insanity
4). Open the Gates
5). Corrosion of Souls
6). Interlude
7). Towards Humanity
8). The Carnage
9). Face Our Destiny
10). Till the Last Drop
11). Carry On
12). A Morbid Vision
13). The Path of Sorrow

The Review:

Deserted Fear specialise in the kind of death metal so beloved of Scandinavian and European bands. Don't think Nile or Immolation. Think Asphyx and Entombed. This is the band's third full length and they bring their Teutonic terror to the masses in fine style here. The tanks roll, the sound is pleasingly clear and bright, but with the right amount of grit to make this sound... real.

No super fast blasting here, no so-low-you-can-barely-hear-them vocals. This is honest to goodness (not much goodness) death metal from Germania. “The Fall of Leaden Skies” is the first track after a scene setting intro and it really sums up the record: if you like this one then “The Edge of Sanity” will get your neck snapping in similar fashion.

The band offer up their own sound, but the aforementioned bands, Revel in Flesh, At The Gates, Dismember and so on are all valid reference points. “Corrosion of Souls”, “Towards Humanity” and “The Carnage” offer up concise and rocking workouts; the song writing is lean and effective: riffs, changes, good vocals. Some tracks are pacier than others, but this is all head nodding stuff. Death metal, as I live and breathe!

“Face Our Destiny”, “Till the Last Drop” and “Carry On” cap off the album in grandstanding style; so consistent are the band in their sound that the record just flies by. The album also comes with two bonus tracks, both of admirably high quality and a nice touch from Century Media to include them.  A Morbid Vision” was my favourite of the two, with its' Bolt Thrower esque pacing. There is absolutely nothing to complain about here. This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!

Dead Shores Rising” is available now

Band info: facebook

FFO: Grave, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Bodyfarm