Label - Majestic Mountain Records
Release Date - 25th August 2023
Words - Chris Fletcher
For better or worse, the term ‘supergroup’ will always come with weighty expectations, and although the idea behind Grand Cadaver was simply that of old friends coming together to express their mutual love of classic, HM-2 Swedish death metal, there is no denying the extreme metal credentials on display. The five-piece, boasting current and former members of Dark Tranquillity, Tiamat, Novarupta and Katatonia, have returned with their second full-length Deities Of Deathlike Sleep, and once again raised the question as to whether these tunes can live up to the death metal pedigree in their ranks.
This ten-track riff-fest kicks off with ‘The Forever Doom’, a track which instantly provides the buzzsaw-like guitar tone that will put any fan of Swede-death immediately in their comfort zone. This lasts throughout the album, as the next few songs race by in a flurry of blast beats and chainsaw riffs that will satisfy everybody who ever had their musical journey altered by Left Hand Path.
Later on in the album the one-two-punch of ‘True Necrogeny’ and ‘Stabbed With Frozen Blood’ offers a much-needed change of pace and kills dead any chance of fatigue. Finally album closer ‘Necrosanctum’ - the longest cut on the record yet still under five minutes - ensures that we finish proceedings strongly and almost demands that you headbang along.
Deities Of Deathlike Sleep isn’t a complicated affair. In fact, its strength lies in the simplicity and effectiveness on display. Setting out to achieve a goal and then hitting their target with bullseye precision shows a band that are masters of their craft. Add in the production job that allows the songwriting to shine through the fuzz and we are on to a winner.
Overall the band have, once again, achieved what they set out to do. Deities Of Deathlike Sleep is a sonic love letter to the HM-2 sound that all fans of death metal are familiar with and one that makes you want to keep returning again and again. When discussing the project the band stated that they never intended to release a full-length under the Grand Cadaver moniker, yet here they are already two deep and counting. Let’s hope they keep surpassing expectations and keep the riffs coming for many more.
8/10.
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