Just by hitting ‘play’ and listening to the first (and title) track come tearing out of your speakers like a scalded cat, you know you’re in for a treat….. especially if you’re a fan of old school Swedeath.
Gothenburg’s Miasmal formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2011.
I’ve got it. It’s a belter.
This self-titled debut got great reviews and was a great example of crusty Dismembery Swedish death metal. Now we have ‘Cursed Redeemer’ some 3 years later and the band have further honed their sound with more of a loose, groove based thrashy vibe to the record. The riffs are meaty and the solos are ripping. I mentioned the blistering pace of the opener, ‘Call Of The Revenant’ follows with a crushingly heavy riff and ‘Whiskey Train’ follows that, ripping along quicker than a fat bird on hearing Greggs has a ‘two for one’ offer on steak-bakes! This is a super catchy groove drenched number and is immediately followed by ‘Excelsior’ which I’m playing right now and headbanging away to its simple infectious riff.
‘A Veiled Remembrance’ has a really punky d-beat feel to it with a chunky bass thrapping from Ruben Persson and even more killer riffage from Magnus Andreasson & Pontus Redig – who also gives a fantastic vocal performance on this record, no clean singing BS just full on classic Stockholm style gruff barking!! New-boy drummer Björn Eriksson (Agrimonia / Radiation) pounds the skins and drives the band forward on a solid rhythmic foundation that underpins the whole record. Miasmal sound loose and effortless but are tighter than a Spanish waiters trousers on this album, they spoil us with modern death metal that is rooted but not slavishly following the giants of the past such as Grave & Dismember. The song writing quality is consistently high and there’s not a duff track on the record. In fact it gets better with every listen!
Well worth shelling out for if this is your thing, you won’t be disappointed.
(8.5/10 Mark Eve)
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