Dark Descent Records has never shied away from the more primitive, unpolished side of Death Metal. Recent efforts from bands such as Terror Corpse, Grave Infestation and Sedimentum showcase the label’s love of dark, honest and brooding Death Metal albums. With a modern emphasis on social media, gimmicks and cheesy, recycled riffs as a vehicle for bands to find “success”, Degraved have leaned heavily into the ways of old that the folks at Dark Descent clearly took note of to craft their pummeling debut.
Hailing from Seattle, Washington and composed of shared members with active Pacific Northwest acts such as Cystic and Warp Chamber, Degraved’s debut full length ‘Spectral Realm of Ruin’ takes no prisoners in its primitive Death Metal approach.
Typical Death Metal traits (one may say…”old school”…ugh) are littered throughout here. Low grunt/growled vocals, mid paced blasting drums and just enough dive bomb heavy lead work to keep things interesting. Classic comparisons can be made to the first few Immolation and Incantation records, newer perhaps earlier Tomb Mold and Spectral Voice.
At many moments, the urgently blasting drums give way to fist pumping, head banging double bass under big power chord based riffs which help carry out the length of the song to an extent which makes plenty of room for vocals, leads and at several moments, tastefully placed synth and keys. The latter add quite a nice touch and an added layer of darkness that most Death Metal bands dare not dabble in.
The most enjoyable trait about this record is the push and pull of the whole thing. There’s groove, there’s faster sections, leads, and lots of very interesting and dark dynamics, especially in the latter half of the record. I really don’t have much to pry at here from a production standpoint, either. There are very few guitar breaks here, but the guitar tone is quite bass heavy and muddy (in a good way). It’s a very balanced sounding, organic record and fits the music stylistically like a glove.
As a whole, ‘Spectral Realm of Ruin’ doesn’t overstay its welcome and is a perfectly satisfying meal of classically styled death metal. Hoping to see much more from this band in a live setting as well as future musical endeavors.
