Sweden’s Death Reich return with yet another EP called ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. The band, formed by drummer Jonas Blom (Sacramentum, Runemagick and Grief of Emerald to name a few), has released a slew of singles, EP’s and one full-length up to this point. As with most of its releases, their newest EP has been released by Non Serviam Records, an underground label that boasts bands like Bloodphemy, Winter of Sin and (the aforementioned) Grief of Emerald.
‘Stockholm Syndrome’ offers five tracks of ferocious Death Metal. Contrary to its title, however, Death Reich do not live up to their contemporaries from the Stockholm Scene. In essence, their style is more closely related to the American scenes, with hints of Morbid Angel and Malevolent Creation almost omnipresent. If one was to name a similar band from Swedish soil, it has to be Deranged. The EP is littered with speedy tremolo riffs and blast beats, with only a handful of slower parts to let room for a little breather.
Whilst blistering speeds and near constant blastbashing sound cool on paper, I feel it’s often prone to becoming samey and bland after minutes. An effective remedy to counteract this would be to add a torrent of memorable riffs and/or melodies. Death Reich opt for this approach too. The riffs seem to mix speed with gripping melodies and harmonies. Personally, I enjoy really enjoy their songs whilst being in the middle of them, but I too found it difficult to distinguish between individual songs.
On the positive side though, the very analogue and warm feel of the production really fits well with Death Reich’s style. It’s not too often that extreme metal (these days) played at these speeds embraces the sound of an actual drumkit and amp. The kick drums might be triggered to some extent, but the overall production has a very natural touch. Props to the audio engineer for his job on ‘Stockholm Syndrome’!
