INTERMENT

I can't say I was surprised that an album of true blue old school Swedish death metal released on Pulverised came across so well, aurally speaking. The dedicated operators of the Singaporean label have keen ears for that sort of thing, AXIS POWERS' effort from last year an example that comes immediately to mind. Then I saw that INTERMENT features in its ranks members of DEMONICAL and former members of CENTINEX (who closed shop and boarded up the windows a while back). Well no wonder "Into the Crypts of Blasphemy" growls, cracks, and snaps in a manner so proud and so representative of classic Swedish death metal, attributes reiterated by the band through a statement about a recently posted song called "Night of the Undead": It "summarizes the album supremely and brings forth the dark and filthy Swedish old school death the band has been delivering for over 20 years."

It sure as shit does. Considering the pedigree, who among you would have cast even a shadow of a doubt over the statement? That's what I thought. No big secrets are revealed on "Into the Crypts of Blasphemy". You've heard it before, at least from Swedish acts that could actually write a song if required for the purposes of saving their own lives. In other words, the number of bands (new, old, or reunited) delivering the Swede-death goods continues to increase and we're fortunate enough very few have stunk up the place. Tried, true, and solid as a big freakin' boulder, "Into the Crypts of Blasphemy" can be held in the same high regard as the most recent albums by NOMINON, DEMONICAL, and AXIS POWERS. The sound is amplifier-blown and dirt-encrusted, the pace is typically frantic, and the songs written skillfully enough to warrant return visits. One needs only look to the speed-flaying ruckus of "Stench of Flesh" to hear an album devoid of studio-bent fucking about. Incidentally, a brief transitional section of that tune during which the guitars drop out leaving only drums accompanying the phlegm-y vocals is a horn-throwing highlight.

INTERMENT more than gets the job done on "Into the Crypts of Blasphemy". Oh I suppose there may be some folks — probably addicted to opiates and existing in a parallel universe — that have had enough of this Swedish racket, no matter how well played. We just won't pay attention to them and their contrarian insipidity.