Death is June : Endseeker : "Coffin Born"

 

Germany has been busting out a ton of death metal and harcore this year, and this entry should go to the top of the list. Interestingly, I just reviewed the new Fleshcrawl album, and they are another German band with a strong Entombed influence, so Germans must just be getting into Entombed. These guys have a better production, making the vocals snarl their way over the dense attack of guitar, which seems to be the main Entombed factor driving these bands is nailing the nasty tone, maybe there's a pedal or lugin that does it? This is why I stand by the fact that songs matter more than a sound, as anyone can dial in a sound with the right equipment. 

It's the guitar knack for adding melody to balance the brutality that works best for these guys, though the second song does not have the same impact as the opening track. Some of this is because my ears are braced for impact and know what to expect. Three minutes in, the song turns around to the point that it almost feels like another song. Though with this comes an increased sense of dynamics. The title track is well done, and perhaps more intentionally, it does not grab me as strongly as the first song, but it is still cool.

They are even more polished in the songwriting department on "Life Breeds Death". The vocals are more articulated and interplay perhaps the best yet with the guitars. There are cool hooky guitar accents, showing they can write catchy songs when they set their mind to it. The palms muted chug of the everse is headbanging worthy for sure. They employ sung vocals for a cover of David Hasselhoff's "True Survivor" . He is huge in Germany so I suppose I am not surprised by the choice, but it's interesting that their vocalist can sing cleans this well and does not do more of them.  I will give this album a 9, as it shows you can still pay tribute to a band and write catchy songs.  Dropping on Metal Blade Records. 

pst253