Embalmed – Brutal Delivery of Vengeance (Dark Blasphemies Records)
Wednesday, 2nd April 2014
“If you suck ass long enough, pretty soon you start choking on shit.” By no means a reflection on the quality of Brutal Delivery of Vengeance but a life lesson amusingly sampled at the beginning of “Pentralia” that just seemed profound. Death metal with a message you ask? With songs like “Stalker, Texas Mangler,” “Insurgent Killer,” and “Regiment of Death,” probably not here but kudos on the riff on Walker, Texas Ranger.
After recording a few demos in the early ‘90s and then disappearing, Embalmed has now returned to release their debut full-length after a rather lengthy absence. It’s entirely plausible that the band was either cryogenically frozen or developed a time machine though, as one can only imagine Brutal Delivery of Vengeance sounds like a direct follow-up to their 90’s demos. This is straightforward, no frills, brutal death metal with a heavy influence from the NYDM scene. Expect a sound more in line with Pyrexia or Internal Bleeding, with some occasional slams and plenty of groove. There is even a bit of Incantation that the band briefly flirts with during “Bloated Cadaver,” momentarily bringing the material down to a funeral doom pace.
The strongest aspect of Embalmed’s delivery is that of their groove. There’s not a single track to be found that doesn’t have at least one moment of (death metal) infectious groove. From the chunky opening of “Bathtub Slaying” to the catchy rhythms of “Crescendo of Violence,” your head will be bobbing, even if you don’t want it to at the moment. Unfortunately, the production does seem a bit dated and the drums can have a “tinny” sound to them at times, which is in keeping with the original era but not quite so excusable in this day and age.
If you are in the mood for some groove-laden, NYDM-inspired death metal, there’s no reason not to give this one a chance. Production issues aside, this is destined to get your neck muscles moving.
