Let’s be honest, any deathcore records released in 2022 are going to be compared to Lorna Shore‘s Pain Remains, and releasing the same month as Pain Remains is a ballsy move. But Unique Leader pulled off two successful competitors with A Wake in Providence and Bonecarver. Let’s see how Nuclear Blast’s entry, the debut from Denmark’s Cabal fares shall we?

I discovered Cabal on Spotify a couple of years ago, so they have been on my radar for a while now. They are not full-on blackened or symphonic deathcore, but do use some synths and programming that actually are more the Fear Factory  ‘beep’ and ‘whir’, more mechanical and industrial style. I’d put them more in the same wheelhouse as Black Tongue, Vildhjarta,  Humanity’s Last Breath or Distant as they are more down-tempo, beatdown, style of deathcore that stutters and lumbers with a focus on hefty grooves rather than full-on orchestral bombast or super slow breakdowns. Also, the vocals are not even close to full-on deathcore reeees and shrieks, but rather more a hardcore gruff bellow or shout.

But overall, as a result, everything works, and the band/label’s decision NOT to be another one of the many orchestra-drenched Lorna Shore rip-offs is a smart one, as Cabal forge a little more of their own style and character on Magno Interitus. It’s a solid album of modern, deathcore-ish ‘groove metal’ that has a little more appeal than straight-up deathcore. I could even see Devildriver,  Rob Zombie or Machine Head fans digging the likes of the opener “If I Hang, Let Me Swing”, the title track or “Blod af Mit” with its heavily industrial/electronic bridge halfway through.

But there is plenty to like if you like stuttttering, discordant, heaving grooves, and breakdowns littered with some synths and other programming.  And all of it is delivered with a killer, clean production from Chris Kreutzfeldt. In particular the likes of “Insidious”, “Existence Ensnared”, “Like Vultures”, “Exsanguination”, and closer “Plague Bringer” which all bring varying arrays of heavy breakdowns, blasts, and moody programming.

That said, the band seems to be a bit watered down and a tad more commercialized than back before they were signed to Nuclear Blast. They seem a little less heavy and less ….’ dangerous’ or ‘menacing’ than say old tracks like “Eternal Night”,  “Blackened Soil”, “Death March” or “Innocent Blood”. They had a certain darker, more foreboding sound back then, but that’s just my opinion of course. Frankly I’m Enjoying the Rotten Tongue album,  Sacrificial Ideation more, and its very similar in style and scope

Still, it’s refreshing to hear deathcore band not go for the easy Lorna Shore rip off route, and Cabal certainly has delivered something heavy and modern with Magno Interitus and not fallen into that trap and kept their own course.

[Visit the band's website]

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