One of the more impressive retro/Swedish death metal releases of the last few years was from the Czech Republic’s Grave-ly named Brutally Deceased, Dead Lover’s Guide, released in 2010 on Lavadome Productions. Well a long four years later with the scene potentially a little saturated and on another home country based label, the band has returned. How will  the dreaded second album keep up with the Entrails, the Blood Mortized, and the Demonical‘s?

Fucking spectacularly.

Like Blood Mortized, these young Czechs have beefed their sound up considerably from the more raw debut, with a guitar tone that is simply devastating. Hail of Bullets and Entrails had better watch out for these guys and the new Puteraeon when it comes to guitar tone. We are talking  a supreme buzz and bludgeon tone here folks. Add to that, a thunderous drum sound that culls from Entombed‘s huge Clandestine drum sound, and you’ve got a speaker rattling monster. The band still culls heavily from the first 3 Grave classic albums sound wise, and along with the drum sound there is an air of Clandestine here and there  (I mean “Black Hammer Satan” and “Serve the Labyrinthine Tombs”  could have opened Clandestine), but for the most part there is a whole lot that recalls the groove and gait of Into the Grave and You’ll Never See.

Each of the 9 tracks from the throttling opener “Divinity and Decay” to the massive march of pre closer “Prelude to Deathwish” and furious “Deathwish”  is well done homage done with energy, conviction and a guitar tone to make the gods weep. Massive grooves, violent blasts and just enough melody to make it stick. I can’t really pick out a favorite, as they don’t quite have the song writing chops of Entrails to pen those few utterly timeless, classic moments of their own, but there are enough moments of  sheer force and heft of the every song  (i.e ” Regurgitation of Blood, Devoured Flesh and Gastric Juices”)  that made me smile from ear to ear, and the album is more than memorable enough to warrant multiple listens. So long as your speakers are up to it.

Unlike the debut there isn’t a cover song (Dismember‘s “Override of the Overture”), but there are enough nods and odes littered within the material (i.e the “Left Hand Path”-ish  solo in “Day of Darkness”) to make reference to their idols and peers, and those idols and peers should be damned proud of what  a bunch of Czechs have done has done with a classic, but reborn sound.

Despite the saturation and proliferation of this style so early in 2014, I can’t get enough of it and this, the new Puteraeon, Bodyfarm,Vanhelgd, Skinfather, Incarnated, Just Before Dawn and Ribspreader show there is still some life in the o’l Grave on the Left Hand Path of the Overture yet….

[Visit the band's website]

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