Entrails. It’s perhaps fitting that when I look at my CD rack, they’re the first band to come after “Entombed” in the current A-Z configuration. If you’ve followed their progress since 2010, you couldn’t have failed to have noticed that they’ve essentially ended up with the reputation of being the most reliable purveyors of the HM-2 pedal guitar sound old school death metal around. Again, it’s a well-earned reputation.
Following just two years after the release of the magnificent “Obliteration”, the first thought that comes to mind is “Is this just more of the same?”, followed soon after by the next musing, “…and does that matter?”. Well, in short order, the answers are “yes” and “no” respectively. If you’re looking for the next evolution of the Entrails sound, perhaps some turn-tables, synthesisers or laser light shows, you’re going to be pretty disappointed. If you’re looking for a hefty, almost sickeningly groove-laden take on the buzzsaw take on death metal, well – then you’re in luck, stranger. That isn’t to say that Entrails are a by the numbers kind of band, but they do evolve within the strictures of the conventional rules as they relate to Swedish death metal. Yes, the vocals are hoarse, gravel-soaked whiskey belches of unpleasant things happening to people. Of course, the guitars sound like they’re actually powered by the petrol-driven power tools aisle at B and Q, and the drums have the kind of all-powerful smashing sound of a head on collision. The melody though – the melody.
“World Inferno” is a surprisingly melodic album, all told. Tracks such as “The Soul Collector” have plenty of quite artful licks hidden underneath the all pervasive buzzing, and this is something that’s equally welcomed elsewhere through the album. It’s probably the most melodic yet heavy old school death metal record that’s been put out since the hey-day of Dismember, and that’s a good thing to my ears. Whether they’re belting through one of the more sinister tracks of their career on the genuinely creepy “Insane Slaughter”, or the slope-browed lurch of “Into Eternal Fire”, you get the impression that Entrails were having fun with this. Each track has a distinct personality, and it seems to me that it’s going to be the kind of album that translates really well into the live arena.
So, are there are great changes to be found here? No, not really. It is more of what you like, but with ten new songs. That’s perfectly fine for me, because when you have a formula that works so well, why would you want to tinker and change it too much? This is pretty much the best band at what they do at the moment, and even with a lack of invention, sometimes sticking to one’s guns is in everyone’s best interests. If time’s going to stand still, it might as well stand still on a winning formula. Keep doing what you do chaps.
(8.5/10 Chris Davison)
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