Deathblow – Rotten Trajectory (Sewer Mouth Records)
Monday, 25th September 2023
Although there are plenty of Deathblows across the globe of the death, gothic, or doom variety, this specific Deathblow hails from Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally formed as a cover band, they changed monikers from Deathblo in 2012 – in turn releasing two albums and an EP over the course of 2014-2020. Considered an ‘appetizer’ for the third album, Rotten Trajectory is a rather quick hitter affair considering the three tracks whirl by in just over eight minutes. And this should be quite appealing to those that love thrash with a punk meets traditional flair – letting loose all kinds of pure passion without any extraneous effects or sideways losses in momentum.
The title track for instance has that adequate main vocal/background gang contrasts, blitzkrieg lead play, plus heads down punk-infused drumming with the killer mid-tempo transition (fueled with some sick bass mechanics from Pauly) to garner sick pit action. Guitarist Holger the Horrible possesses one of those lacerated, quick hitting deliveries for vocals that keeps up with the chugging, frantic riff action he and Smelly execute – injecting specific parts with some old school traditional Maiden/Priest-like harmonies on closer “In Plain Sight”. The style, speed, and precision in their songwriting comes from more of the Nuclear Assault meets Power Trip school of incorporating a wider variety of influences (old and new) to keep greater attention on what will come next. You can tell the quartet has the right sense of instinctual abilities, knowing when to go full force and then lay into something a bit more controlled before the next aural salvo collides into your brain and body.
With just three tracks it’s difficult not to hit replay very quickly after the final musical note, that’s the beauty of Rotten Trajectory in a nutshell. Let’s hope that we can get that next album out soon, as Deathblow carries a ton of promise in strengthening their following that should be fulfilled.
