Wednesday 18 December 2013

Dehuman - Black Throne of All Creation


I think death metal records always seem to have the best artwork. The cover for Black Throne of All Creation features a painting by twentieth-century painter Otto Dix and seems apt when held up against Dehuman's progressive death metal. The band formed in Belgium in 2006 and promptly released their first demo in 2007. It was then five years before Black Throne of All Creation was released via Kaotoxin Records in 2012.

Tracklist:-

1. Apocalypse And Perdition
2. Monstrosity In the Hands of God
3. Eyes of A Thousand
4. Spiral of Loss
5. Down With The World
6. Harvest The Sun
7. Cast of Assassination
8. Black Mamba
9. Path To Oblivion

I’m secretly a bit of a sucker for modern, progressive death metal. I like the melodic guitars and harmonies, as well as the production that goes with it. I guess that’s just a symptom of growing up with metalcore, when I was younger. Dehuman’s brand of death metal is a suitable next step for people moving on from metalcore, certainly in brutality anyway.

They show off their propensity for grand songs straight from the off with Apocalypse And Perdition. It begins with an intro filled with those modern guitar harmonies I was talking about, before progressing into a thrash-laden song filled with double bass and blastbeats. Dehuman seamlessly shift from one song to another, giving you no opportunity to pause. They switch between more expansive songs and shorter songs like Monstrosity In The Hands of God and Eyes of A Thousand, which highlight more of their progressive and technical songwriting, as well as a stirring solo. There’s even room for some vocal effects during the latter.

Dehuman seem to have their own blueprint too, which separates them from their peers. Their mixture of melody and heaviness within the music stops them from sounding formulaic. Their longer songs like Spiral of Loss are kept interesting by tempo-changes and well thought out textures. The bass sticks out during the intro to Down With The World, as the song flings itself into a writhing death/grind mess during the opening bars. The double-bass, while low in the mix, can still be heard blasting away in the background. It provides a hell of a wake-up call at the albums mid-point. As the album progresses, you begin to understand how Dehuman have managed to share stages with the likes of Cattle Decapitation and Aborted amongst others. There sound is mature and controlled and the gap in between their demo and their debut full-length was a decent stroke, as it gave them time to hone their sound. Harvest of The Sun seems almost symphonic at times, at least until the guitar squeals pierce your ears that is! 

They seem to hit a new technical level with Cast of Assassination, thanks to some fret-board mastery, which manages to stay on the right side of cliched. Is the song title Black Mamba a wry nod to Steve Irwin? I don’t know, but it is pretty epic with it’s Eastern guitar melodies and fast sweeps. The bludgeoning comes to rest with Path To Oblivion. Dehuman’s last chance to brow beat you with their technical death. The screams at the start are samples but almost sound like they were taken from a grim black metal release. It begins with an elongated instrumental build up which lasts about one and a half minutes. It’s crazy, off-kilter and the drums absolutely flail. There are moments where Dehuman settle into some guitar chuggery, but there’s more than enough going on with the rest of the song to keep you listening. 

The whole record is brimming with twists and turns that make it a must for any death metal fan. It proves that Europe is still ahead of the game in DM terms and backs up what I’ve thought all along, that Belgium has the best grooves! Dehuman will soon have a new album out, so get your lugs around this one and then feel the anticipation!

Stream the whole album here:-


There are, as always, multiple ways to purchase this album:-

1) Via digital download from the Kaotoxin bandcamp page.
2) On CD or sumptuous vinyl/limited edition vinyl directly from Kaotoxin's store here - http://shop.kaotoxin.com

Dehuman Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dehumanDM
Kaotoxin Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kaotoxinrecords

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