Listening to ‘Violent Retaliation’ feels like being dragged face-first through a shallow grave filled with broken glass and rusty HM-2 pedals. Amersfoort’s own Deathmarch delivers a relentless blast of pure Old-School Death Metal that bridges the gap between classic Dutch asphyxiation and raw Swedish crust. Think the suffocating weight of Asphyx colliding head-on with the dirty, D-beat-driven attack of early Centinex or Repugnant.
Rather than wallowing in slow atmospheric dread, the band relies on driving, high-energy tempos sustained by Olle Oele’s hammering percussion. Tracks like ‘Experience My Hate’ showcase Sebastiaan Limburg’s razor-sharp guitar work, unleashing biting riffs and frantic, ripping solos that slash through Olav Bus’s cavernous, gravel-throated vocals. Walter van Kalsbeek’s clanking bass keeps the low end appropriately filthy and grounded.
If there is a critique to lob, the production leans a bit too clean in the drum department, slightly robbing the snare of that ultimate cavernous grime you might want from a true basement tape vibe. Additionally, a couple of mid-album arrangements tend to blur together rhythmically. However, when they lock into a punishing groove on a standout cut like ‘Riot’, any minor shortcomings vanish beneath a wall of sonic violence. It is an honest, meat-and-potatoes assault that proves Dutch Death Metal still has plenty of teeth.
