This Danish death metal band’s second effort, Venenum was a little over-hyped for me, as they seemed to be 2019s death metal darlings in the eyes of the media, press, spotify (seemed like it was every daily mix and playlist), and fans. But I thought it was merely OK, as it barely registered in the slew of 2019s other, better death metal releases (ie Nile, ADE, Disentomb, Gomorrah, Organectomy). So when I started hearing “Abattoir” on Spotify, and enjoyed it, I thought I’d check out the follow-up album, Necro Sapiens.

So while I’m still lukewarm on the band, Necro Sapiens is hitting me better than its predecessor, and it’s a fine,  ‘old school’ but modern death metal record, with everything you’d want; big meaty production, a confident mix of striding, beefy grooves, and menacing blasts, commanding vocals and your standard death metal lyrical tropes. I personally think these guys are somewhere between Aborted, early Gorefest, fellow chunky Danes, Dawn of Demise and sometimes some of Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel‘s slower churns and twistiness.

As with most death metal I enjoy, Baest shine when delivering slower, more controlled marches and grooves. Which seems to have more focus on this album. The Aforementioned standout, “Abattoir” along with opener “Genesis”, the rumbling Bolt Thrower-y title track,  “Goregasm” and massive closer “Sea of Vomit” (my favorite song title so far in 2021) are the album’s hardest-hitting numbers. The other songs like “Czar” ,”Tower of Suffocation” or “Purification Through Mutilation” and blasting “Meathook Massacre”  (which all have some slow parts in them ) all have merit as modern, burly, blasting death metal, but you’ve heard it a thousand times before.

That said, even with the better slower songs, I’m still not quite ready to anoint Baest as death metal’s new kings,  and I’m never like “FUCK YEAH BAEST!!!!!” when I hear one of their songs, similar to bands like Revocation and High On Fire, I haven’t quite fully latched on to the allure yet.

[Visit the band's website]

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