When Dan Swano says “One of the best SweDeath projects I have come across in 20 years. The perfect blend of all the highlights from the Swedish scene from 89 to 91. Truly awesome!”, I buy instantly and listen later.
And having mastered this release from Sentient Horror (with mixing assistance from Damian Herring of Horrendous), he has hands on experience with the band (who had a couple of release under the moniker Sentience) and album, he should know what he is talking about, and boy is he right! There has been some killer Swedeath released in 2016 (Demonbreed, Fatalist, Brutally Deceased, Interment, Sorcery, Nocturnal Hollow, Ulcer, Revel in Flesh just to name a few), but Ungodly Forms is right near or at the top of the list. Not bad for a band from New Jersey.
Like all the bands mentioned above, Sentient Horror are not reinventing the wheel; they are crushing it with a mid range HM boss pedal onslaught. They have the guitar tone, as every band of the style does, but like Demonbreed and Revel in Flesh’s latest, it’s just that that cut above the rest, and purely devastating. But it’s the song writing that makes the difference when everyone has a killer guitar tone, and that’s where Sentient Horror rise above.
The perfect balance of beef, speed and catchy is reminiscent of Entrails where doing with there first few albums, where the homage was spread across the big three (Grave, Entombed and Dismember), as well as nods to early Gorefest and Edge of Sanity (sometimes the press release is actually fucking spot on…..) and with a sick production to make it even more destructive.
Want a massive, crushing slow number? Check out the title track. Want that classic, catchy Stockholm trot and chug, check out “Suffer to the Grave”. Want faster, Dismember-ish hack slice? Then opener “Abyssal Ways” is for you. Want a longer, moody slow burner, (except for the mid section) then closer “Celestial Carnage” should do the trick.
I really like what Germany’s Testimony Records is doing as this, Demonbreed’s Where Gods Come to Die and The Dead Goats’ All of Them Witches are putting the label right up there with countrymates FDA Records as one of the finest purveyors of the style out there right now.
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Well, well ,well Erik….I’m leaving my list alone. HOWEVER, if we do the cavities and fillings again, I really liked that last year, this will be on my list, for sure. USA finally has a true Stockholm sounding band, at last. Fuckin punishing…killer!!! Great recommendation and review. \m/
on Dec 23rd, 2016 at 20:25The guitar solos are fantastic on this album too, major league shredability
on Dec 26th, 2016 at 14:48Tired of this “pedal” sounding guitar tone. It’s irritating, trebly, thin, and DONE before better.
on Dec 26th, 2016 at 21:59