Death is June- Devourment : "Pious Impiety"

 

No one could have predicted that slam bands would be playing arenas. Granted, it took some refinement. But it brings us to a place where the first new music from these guys in seven years is a big deal. The vocals and the underproduced snare sound are the consistent qualities that root them in what they do. Here is where saying genres don't matter, because with them  come expectations. This band is sticking to the expectations almost to a fault, though you can hear how it's not too far of a stretch to take them to the more mainstream death metal of a Cannibal Corpse. 

The title track that kicks off these three songs, with some horror movie sound bytes, gives the karate chopping kids what they want first, before you begin to hear how the riffing has matured. The drumming is impressive even if tinny in tone and more of a patter than the thunder of bands hitting bigger stages. There is a great deal of blasting, which is not my favorite part. It's the groove that resonates more and makes the song worth more than one listen to fully absorb.  They are not changing the game here, just playing it well. The second song flies in under a flurry of hyper-fast drumming. None of the lyrics can be understood, leaving the vocals as a low-end frequency doubling up the bass.

The last song is "Advanced Stage Decomposition," which highlights another thing about a genre that just goes heavy. Which is the first song that will fly by as you are stunned by how dense it is? The second song had me asking, but can you write a song that they are at least willing to lean in that direction? Then, by the third song, it began to sound like them. So maybe that is where the band is concerning this sort of thing as well, any more than three songs would be redundant. One of my favorite death metal bands came out of this genre so it can be done. It is not happening here, but they are true to who they are.I will give this an 8. 

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