Fatalist - The Depths of Inhumanity
Full-length, Ibex Moon Records, November 23rd, 2009
Old school Swedish death metal, those days are pretty much long gone, for the most part anyway. The glory days of Stockholm being the apex of dirty, dark death metal are far in the past. Although there seem to be a few new bands attempting to pick up the reins and bring death metal back to its unclean roots -- away from drum triggers, pointless technicality, sterling productions, etc...One of these bands come from California of all places, about as far from Stockholm as you can get. Enter the band Fatalist (whose logo is an EXACT replica of death metal legends Nihilist, no coincidence there) who perform dirty, nasty death metal, the way it is supposed to sound.
This is Swedish death metal performed as the masters had once performed it, grinding buzz-saw guitar tone and all (I absolutely love this kind of guitar tone). While Fatalist are no doubt performing death metal in the vein of bands like Entombed, Nihilist and Dismember, they manage to interject a bit of their own influence as well. Loads of dark melodies, heavy bass tone and splintering drums. The band at times drift into more thrash-y territory, but in the most death metal way possible. There are also a few nice guitar solos scattered throughout the album, which add a nice dimension to the buzz-saw riffage found throughout. Add to all this a clean, but grimy and acidic production that perfectly compliments the sound Fatalist are hoping to achieve.
Not a whole lot of new and/or innovative things happening on this album, but I will be damned if Fatalist does not bring some much needed terror to the new school death metal scene. Kudos to any band that presents a knowingly 'been there' sound, but still manage to add some authenticity as well. If you love old school Swedish (and some American) death metal, do yourself a favor and pick this up, its heavy and menacing, the way death metal should be.
Reviewed by E. - 8/10
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