Rogga Johannson anybody? The RMR crew feared for a moment that the geek-in-chief of Swedeath is on the prowl again. But not so. Instead, we’re faced with an archaic and primordial version of Death Metal brutality. With some – Cthulhu-esque thing from the deep watching you from the cover with evil, hungry, and alien eyes.
And yes, we’re talking about Maceration. An age-old band torturing our eardrums since 1990. A band offering fake Swedish fare because they actually hail from – Denmark? Correct, geographically speaking, but not so fast. Thus, let’s take a step back. After 1995, the band pretty much fell off the face of the earth and reappeared a lifetime later, in 2022, with a bunch of singles and their second full-length It Never Ends. A record that sailed right past our most sophisticated radar stations. Oh, and talk about a hiatus and a furious return to the living. Methinks they enjoyed their time of abject maceration in the cold wastes of Kadath and are now ready for more action. Let’s have it.
The truth is in the pudding, but damn, is it hot and spicy. Serpent Devourment hit our review pipe with a mighty bang. Huge, meaty, archaic Neanderthal riffs follow mighty thrashy guitar assaults. With typical bolt-like solos suddenly appearing as if sent from Zeus’ realm. Brutal Beatz from Northern Death Metal mainstream that won’t teach you anything new. But you cannot be but impressed with the boundless energy on full display roaring in like a battle tank full of ogres with guns blazing on a quest to find the next swamp harem.
And propped on top of that unholy contraption, Serpent Devourment sports a megaton of abrasive growls and snarls reigning supreme. A furious attack by Kam Lee1 with an anger management problem? No, it ain’t Massacre, even if the fare on offer sails dangerously close to them. Instead, vocalist Jan Bergmann Jepsen tries to burn everything and everybody into the dust with limitless barbarism fueled by the fury of the ages. A laudable performance that will leave no man standing after this series of sucker punches and dropkicks.
That said, the similarities to former pieces of work don’t quite stop with Lee’s alma mater. Bands like Paganizer, Entombed, or Dismember constantly appeared in our mind when Maceration slathered this crew in their trademark salt ‘n’ savory marinade. And I could go on naming names. But – sadly – it’s only so much this yuge squeeze bottle of Swedeath’s Mighty BBQ’s Best can bring to the table. Once the flavor fades, the meat underneath is just not tender enough to get you through this dish without boredom setting in.
In other words, and similar to Johansson’s fare, predictability leads to the repetition bug biting hard. And that’s unfortunate but very true, too. Luckily, Dan Swanö’s laudable work on the mix and master made sure that the guitars and vocals were exactly in the correct spots. Meaning, guitars raking your ears first, followed by the furious vocals to do the rest.
Ultimately though, Serpent Devourment attempts to make up for wallowing too much in the Scandinavian Death Metal quagmire with an extra dose of vibrant metal power. This perfectly timed piece of razor-sharp metal hits like the next-level atomic bomb on quantum steroids. And that’s pretty much all there is to this here record. A Swedish Death Metal mainstream piece with an extra dose of power painted in bold strokes, complete with tentacled cookie monsters and the usual mix of weighty raspy growls and screams. It is also a pity that Maceration didn’t kick this up a few notches and inject their fare with a tad more melodics. That would have helped lift this chebang a few rungs up this tortuous metal ladder of theirs. But alas, this didn’t quite happen.
Record Rating: 5/10 | Label: Emanzipation Production | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 31 January 2025
- Famously appeared on this zine as a guest singer for Negative Vortex. -Ed.-↩