Torture Killer scored themselves a little attention when they hired Chris Barnes to front their sophomore album Swarm! Like many recent efforts from the Six Feet Under/ex-Cannibal Corpse frontman, I found the quality lacking. This time around, the Finnish death metal outfit have taken on a new vocalist, Juri Sallinen, who is quite prolific with around a half dozen of his own underground projects. Though the guttural vocals are retained here with a style not unlike Barnes in delivery, Sewers trumps Swarm! in nearly every department. Better writing and better grooves.The style is very much rooted in the old Florida feel of Obituary, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity and of corpse Cannibal Corpse. If you fancy this particular train of destruction, you won't want to get off. The songs are intense but never complex, instead fueled by enough groove and drum pummeling that they could turn any standstill band of mopheads into a blood lusting pit of mosh fiends. I haven't moshed in decades but when I hear a track like "I Bathe in Their Blood", "By Their Corpse", or the punishing "Scourging at the Pillar", I felt those prehistoric impulses return to my drying blood.
The mix lends itself well to the lower fretboard focus of the guitars, there is a particular darkness of tone which matches well the loose concept of the album. There are some nice melodic but creepy lead breaks in certain tracks like "Scourging at the Pillar" which create an additional depth to what is otherwise a very basic bludgeoning style. Torture Killer have outdone themselves to produce a good death metal album, and I do hope they will continue to flesh out this approach.
Verdict: Win [7.5/10]
http://www.torturekiller.com/
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