Friday 12 September 2014

Dictated - The Deceived (Album Review)


Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 19/8/2014
Label: Metal Blade Records

“The Deceived” CD/DD/LP track listing:

01. Forced into Dismay (01:00)
02. This Is to All (03:02)
03. No Absolution (04:52)
04. The Basher (04:26)
05. No Mercy for Cowards (03:59)
06. Dispossession (03:13)
07. The Deceived (03:38)
08. Stonebreakers Rising (02:58)
09. They Live, They Suffer, They Die (04:10)
10. Rail of Death (03:56)


Bio:

Dictated's humble origins began when guitarists Yessica and Sonja stumbled upon Michiel vd Plicht and Henri Sattler during a heavy drinking session. While Henri was hustling to sell the girls one of his custom made SK Guitars, they managed to talk business in creating the new Dictated album.

On the same night, vocalist York became interested in the project, and after another night in the Irish pub, he was there to stay.

With a full line-up completed, the five of them took over rehearsal rooms and Henri drove the other four members to write the best material possible. Ten new songs were born with the help of an abandunce of sweat, beer and coffee.

In September 2013, Dictated entered Studio Soundlodge to record the new album. In the meantime, photo shoots took place in which friends and family of Dictated found themselves mutilated in the artwork. A solid sense of humor, a tenuous grip on sanity, determination, and willpower led to Dictated's second effort: "The Deceived."

Last time around, fans saw them live on tour in Europe with Origin in 2012. Dictated is ready to hit the road again

The Band:

York Keijzer | Vocals
Sonja Schuringa | Guitars
Jessica Otten | Guitars
Henri Sattler | (session) Bass
Michiel vd Plicht | (session) Drums

Review:

Dictated are from Holland, which- couple with them playing death metal- could make for lots of alliterative phrases. Holding back on that for now, let's get to what matters: the music. This is straight up death metal in a Euro style. You get an instrumental opener then ‘This Is to All’ blasts the band into a familiar death metal orbit. Fast and heavy, true death metal is alive and well here. There are crushing riffs- witness the opening of ‘No Absolution’ for proof- and there are more Bolt Thrower -esque tempos to boot. ‘The Basher’ is speedy and grind-y with it. Feral stuff, played with a straight ahead sensibility. No fat, no wasted riffs.

The excellently titled ‘No Mercy For Cowards’ is an all out fast picked and slow snared assault to start with before picking up to mid-tempo (or thereabouts) and then bringing the mega speed through the middle of the track. Much faster than countrymen Asphyx and not as tech-y as Pestilence, this record cuts an intimidating death metal presence. ‘Dispossession’ boasts some mean riffing and rumbling bass underpinning it. There are some more thrash-esque sections here, too, but be in no doubt: death metal is really what you are getting. The title track features furious tempos and riffing that is very pacey indeed with nice variations and changes to keep things interesting.

‘Stonebreakers Rising’ has an interesting kind of Morbid Angel tinge to the opening riff and the band play around with tempos and stops/starts thereafter. ‘They Live, They Suffer, They Die’ (oh, these titles! Superb.) brings serious aggression to the riffs and captures that classic death metal feeling of barely contained violence, adding in a kind of triplet feel for a section too. Interesting and unusual, the track holds the attention and keeps things fresh near the end of the record. ‘Rail of Death’ brings close to four minutes of carnage after a fade in (nice!). There is a more sinister feel to the riffs here, but of course the band heap violence on violence too.

You can see why Metal Blade signed these disciples of death- they are very much the real deal. Yes, there are some doomy riffs here and there, even some groove orientated sections, but really this is death metal, played with panache and aggression. If you are looking for some straight up fury, look no further.

Words by: Richard Maw

You can pick up a copy here



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