While the upcoming Entrails and Revel In Flesh albums will undoubtedly be two of  the years most hyped retro Swede-death metal releases, a couple of other bands will at least tide you over with their commendable efforts- the reformed Swedish act Sorcery and their dusty, thrashy Arrival at Six and the second effort, Godconstruct  from Germany’s Lifeless.

I was moderately impressed with the bands first outing, Beyond the Threshold of Death, it was 2 years old by the time Ibex Moon re-released in 201, and it sounded a bit dated, but with Godconstruct, Lifeless has fixed the thin sound of the debut as well as increased the quality of the song writing, resulting in a very solid album of Stockholm homage.

After a brief intro, the title track opens with a riff that I swear was going to be a cover of Hypocrisy‘s “Reincarnation” (from The Fourth Dimension) but goes in a different direction and the band never look back as they deliver 10 tracks and one more interlude of pure Entombed/Dismember/Grave worship. The improved, thicker, bigger production and mix is pure Sunlight buzz and rumble, and the songs make no bones about the bands primary influences with buzz saw riffs, a few nostalgic synths, scrawly haunting solos and a fair amount of  grooves that do a little more than recall some of the genres landmark albums and songs.

Admittedly though , for me Godconstruct is not going to compete with Entrails or Revel in Flesh‘s upcoming efforts as the song writing and dynamic isn’t quite there yet. As enjoyable as the album is, I’d have to lump it in with the likes Ulcer, Zombified, Icons of Brutality, Mass Burial, Abysme and such. Solid, enjoyable but hardly classic example of a well worn style. Tracks like ‘The Truth Concealed”, “Sworn to Death” (which even drops ‘Massive Killing Capacity’ in the lyrics as well as some Martin van Drunen-ish vocals) and “Blindead”, while standouts on the album don’t really stick with you and just are not quite on par with some of the bands peers despite the energy and honest, rigid homage to the style.

That being said, as a sucker for this style, the sound and presentation of the band make up for the lack of truly killer songs and if they can continue the gradual improvement with album number three, Lifeless might be able to climb up into the upper echelon of the movement.

[Visit the band's website]

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