Krabathor - Dissuade Truth (2003)

Dissuade Truth is the 6th and final nail in the coffin for Petr Krystof's Krabathor, at least until he one day decides to raise the band up from the ashes of hiatus. Sadly, it's also the least interesting effort in the entire career of the band, opting for a rather straightforward brutal tone than its predecessor. It's still a muddy sounding record, featuring the same lineup, but the grit and grime here is cast strictly through the crunch of the distortion and not the swamplike bite of Unfortunately Dead. Coincidentally, this is the Krabathor album you'd most likely hear from any random brutal death metal act in either the Americas or Europe, and that's exactly why I haven't developed much of a response to it.

Now, before I go so far as to convince anyone that I'm taking a crap on this album, I'm not. This is in no way terrible, just underwhelming. There are some great leads here, and a few fun, thrashing riffs scattered among the 36 minutes, but in the end I could not think of a single standout track. The album is closest in grasp to Orthodox, but it lacks the superior songwriting of the 90s Krabathor, settling simply to hammer you down a few pegs. Speckmann and Skull seem to fade right into the tapestry, and Krystof's vocals seem less than enthusiastic, the equal of any quickly forgotten grunter on the world death metal stage. Even the cover collage feels rather lazy, what with the cross of Krabathor logos, a big fat skull and an LA gang-banger looking album font. But then I've never cared for the band's covers, aside from Cool Mortification.

All of those things would be easy to forgive if the music was any compensation, but I found very little merit to the majority of the tracks. After a drawn out, slowed speech intro, the title track lunges forward, a battering of death and grind that never seems to quite get its bait on the hook, despite some amusing super-guttural counter vocals in the earlier verse. "Dead Hate Screaming" goes straight through the ears, though "Smell All the Stench" at least has some great, warped leads and a thrashing gait reminiscent of "Zombie Ritual" ala Scream Blood Gore. "No One" goes for a big groove that remains interesting for only a few repetitions, and "Silence Will Cover Noise" has very little of worth save for the leads and deep thrashing rhythm at the minute mark. "Burning Bridges" and "Face the Intruder" are the dominant force on the album; though neither is outstanding, they both have some furious chopping momentum that would make it difficult to sit still. "Face the Intruder" also has a killer lead segment at around 1:30. "Who is Guilty" and "Saving of Mind" did little to reel me in, though the former remains pretty busy throughout.

Dissuade Truth suffers from the syndrome of mediocrity, for which there is no cure except to lay it to rest and listen back on brighter days...or darker days, like Cool Mortification or Lies. I'm sure that those less demanding fans of death metal who simply require grunting and tightly wound, aggressive riffs with no memorable impact would peruse this much like any other album in their collection. Good for a head banging, good for pissing off your Mom. But not good enough for Krabathor, in my humble opinion.

Highlights: Burning Bridges, Face the Intruder

Verdict: Indifference [6/10] (they'll be victims by tomorrow)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Unfortunately Dead (2000)

Never really able to nail a stable line-up for long periods of time, it was a new Krabathor album and yet another change in the ranks. For Unfortunately Dead, the 5th full-length album, the band's brutal shift in tone to Orthodox is once again tweaked, and this time the band produce a dense, aural assault that honestly reminds me Morbid Angel's Domination if only for the crisp but swampy tone to the guitars, or some of Immolation's albums. The songwriting is not on par with that underrated gem, though, and the few promising tracks feel squandered by weight of the rest, which tend to summon 1-2 good rhythms and then throw them away on a less than compelling composition.

Unfortunately Dead also marks the arrival of the prolific Paul Speckmann to the Krabathor roster. You probably know the guy from his other death metal bands like Master, Death Strike or Abomination, and he's a natural fit for the Czech band's primal, hammering tones. However, while the bass on this record is more than competent, I felt a void in the passing of Bruno to Hypnos. The massive, distorted bombast that supported Orthodox is missing from this album, putting even more emphasis on the guitars, with mixed results. Speckmann's vocals are a nice addition to Krystof's, though. 'Skull' remains on the drums here, but he feels somewhat less powerful in the mix, with a very tinny crash to the drums that also suffers beneath the massive ballast of the thick riffing.

"They Are Unfortunately Dead" phases into being with a wall of chords that channel 90s Morbid Angel into Hate Eternal and then dance about the ashes of the resulting nuclear fission. This is actually one of the better tracks on the album, as the opening conjures up a snakelike mystique and a pumping, holocaust thrash with an oddly chugging, melodic bridge that angles into a strange solo. "The Eagles You Can Have" metes out some faster paced chugging, again adorned in a subtle texture of melody, and an interesting mid-paced thrash blockade arrives before 1:30, soon to morph into a moody drum charge with atmospheric, ringing chords and little else. I was really hoping for some sick riff to erupt at this point, but it sort of loops around to the beginning of the track and doesn't really capitalize on its potential. "Mirror of Your Steps" exudes an apocalyptic death/thrashing that could have produced some wondrous results, but it lapses into another rolling subdual with some rather predictable, if brutal riffing. Skull and Speckmann drive forth the "Different Fate", with a fine chugging gait, and this track has some interesting segments within it that sort of mirror my feelings on "The Eagles You Can Have".

"Surviving on Arrogance" is another of the album's stronger pieces, beginning earnestly with another chugging, frenetic tempo that shifts into some very cool, lumber hacking rhythms. I like the somber chords after the minute mark, and the pick up to the swerving bass, and the slowly shifting rhythms of the extensive bridge offer a little adventure. "To Be Unknown" is likewise a curious piece, with some effects over the drums and an extremely moody spike of melodic lead work that channels more depth than almost any other musical sequence on the album. The rest of the track doesn't quite live up to it, but nonetheless it moves fluidly forward. "Living On the Threat of One Finger" is bouncy and aggressive, with some wild drumming buried within, but by this point the rolling, chugging rhythms have begun to feel a little redundant, despite some decent rhythm work after 3:00. "The Evil Men Can Do" is a brief, crawling death/thrasher which picks up some momentum as it continues to abuse its one central riff, though it has a decent lead. The epic, sprawling "Death Through the Centuries" is an 8-minute finale to the album which transitions from haunted, sweeping pianos and synthesizer, to a sequence of narrative, percussive vocals that marry the marching drums, and finally a sludgy mosh stomp segment and more creepy keys courtesy of a guest performer. Occasionally it borders on brilliant, and occasionally it hinges on boring.

Although I rarely ever feel the impulse to listen back on it, Unfortunately Dead was not a total loss. It had an interesting, churning tone to it which was an unexpected departure from Orthodox, yet this is not a band that has ever really offered the same album twice, an ever shifting engine of destruction. The lyrics seem very personal, and not always very good. It exists in a rare space between Krisiun, Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal and Immolation, so fans of any of those bands might find something to like here. I simply wish the riffing had been as memorable as the atmosphere.

Highlights: They Are Unfortunately Dead, Surviving on Arrogance

Verdict: Indifference [6.75] (acting on suppressed anger)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Orthodox (1998)

Krabathor's 4th full-length album Orthodox arrived with a rather 'unorthodox' image gracing its cover, which would perhaps lead the listener to believe that the band's focus has shifted towards the more political realm of death metal, and to an extent this is true, though the band was lyrically exploring these themes on Lies and you could find several examples on the earlier albums. What struck me as a far broader difference was the tone of the album, because Orthodox is the most crushing production of any Krabathor album to date, due largely to the huge, syrup-like distortion of the bass and the ever bludgeoning guitars, more apt to deliver a headache than anything the band had released prior.

This album is a natural extension of the Mortal Memories EP from two years prior, albeit with newer material to complement the title track, which we'd already heard but seems polished up in its place as the album opener. Scorching and virile, it blasts and burns through 3 minutes under the power of new drummer 'Skull' and his methodical footwork. Krystof's chords are far denser here than Lies, but he retains the thrashing influence he has involved since the debut. "Liquid" is our first sampling of something new, and it writhes under the weight of a battering ram, erupting into a melodic riff that seems like a beefier cousin to something that might have appeared on Slaughter of the Soul. "Shit Comes Brown" is a brief anti-Nazi, anti-war track which clocks at just over a minute, with pretty goofy lyrics and thrash/punk riffing that is ultimately forgotten when compared to the better tracks of the album. Speaking of the thrash, "To Red Ones" opens with a stomping rhythm not unlike early Sacred Reich or S.O.D., and maintains this veneer through the verses, as Krystof's vocals provide the deathlike hammering and a snarling, creepy counter vocal.

After this, the album actually picks up in quality, with its two best tracks in swift succession. "Tales of Your History" features a rolling, mystic rhythm before the choppy, mute and squeal bridge, but it's the intense riffing that begins before the 2:00 minute mark that catapults it over the top, with a freakish solo over a churning bass line and a thick breakdown to close which reminds me of Pestilence or Asphyx with van Drunen's vocals, arguably more brutal. "Touch the Sun" explores some bombastic melody over a killer old school death rhythm at 1:00. I also really loved the hook in the breakdown, and the thick morass of grooving chords that embarks thereafter. "Body as a Cover" is a solid, meaty death/thrasher with a few synth strikes in the bridge to herald the onslaught of another bottom end tank groove. "Parasites" has a similar intro, with a cutting guitar rhythm over turbid, bouncing volleys of bass, and it joins "Tales of Your History" and "Touch the Sun" as one of the album's best. Closer "About Death" builds some drama with a hefty if brief synth intro and some chug and squeal as Bruno goes mad on the four strings, and it's not a bad track either.

Orthodox is the new, improved brutality of Krabathor come to fruition. It departs from the thinner tones and additional slicing melody of Lies, but as for the writing it's not exactly a 180-degree turn. While I must admit the sinew of this album is more impressive from a mix standpoint than its predecessors, I do kind of prefer the atmosphere of Cool Mortification, and I felt Lies had stronger songwriting overall. Nonetheless, this is still an effective, and certainly heavy release for the Czechs which would undoubtedly appeal to fans on the more extreme end of slamming death metal. And there are a few tracks here which number among the band's career highs.

Highlights: Tales of Your History, Touch the Sun, Parasites

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (you are less than dust)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Mortal Memories EP (1996)

Like the band's previous EP The Rise of Brutality, Mortal Memories contains a mix of the old and new, with several songs recycled from the band's earlier demos, and a few new cuts, including one that would resurface on the band's fourth full-length album Orthodox. As such, the contents here are largely more 'brute' and primitive sounding than on Lies, but re-recorded such that they'd appeal to the more modern ear of the 90s.

The band's forceful thrash metal roots seep through on the earlier material, which begins with "Breath of Death" from the demo of the same name, released in 1988 when the band was known as simply Krabator. It's pretty impressive that the band were this brutal already in the 80s, and the song itself benefits from the gruffer vocals and crisp, punching guitar tone. But otherwise it's not all that great, with a series of soon forgotten riffs. "Bestial War" is another tone rehashed from the Total Destruction demo (also '88), short and sweet at under 2:00, and exhibiting a more punk/thrash crossover aesthetic slathered in the gutturals. "Apocrypha" reminds me a lot of Sepultura circa Beneath the Remains, a death-heavy brand of thrash metal which originally appeared on the band's 3rd demo Brutal Death (once again, '88).

Next is the newer material, in particular "Orthodox" which would become the title track of the band's next full-length album. The track seems cruder and less melodic than the material the band had release on Lies, as if Krabathor were headed back a step towards their roots. I sort of missed the direction the band were in when they released Cool Mortification, and I found this less than compelling, though not bad. "Slavery" has a slow, choppy crawl to it with vocals that evoke old Martin van Drunen (Pestilence, Asphyx). In fact, though not as catchy, the track feels like something that could have appeared on Consuming Impulse. There's also a video clip included with this CD for the track "Unneccessarity" from Lies and The Rise of Brutality EP.

While I don't consider Mortal Memories to be any sort of cash grab or a 'bad release', it's only of import to Krabathor fans who want re-recordings of demo material. "Slavery" is probably the most worthwhile track here, but "Orthodox" will appear again shortly on an album. This did also mark a shift in the band towards a more typical, slamming death metal style, which I found unfortunate.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Lies (1995)

If The Rise of Brutality EP was any indicator, Krabathor were about to take a turn towards faster, more violent material, and this is certainly the modus operandi for their third album Lies, which was released through Morbid Records. Considering the speed and level of aggression the band rockets through on this album, it is a surprise the album did not explode the band into the minds and stereos of the rabid death legions of the mid 90s. But alas, 1995 was the year of At the Gates, and Lies went by pretty much unnoticed unless you made a point of carefully following all the strains of European death metal that were exploding in those years.

This may not the best of Krabathor's catalog, I reserve that honor for the more laid back, creepy atmosphere of Cool Mortification, but there is no denying the magnitude of force exhibited here. Almost all of the songs are uniformly faster paced than the band's previous work, and the tones are harsh and biting, but not without the melodic strain that has subtly cycled through the band's composition from the beginning. The band is on fire as a three piece, with Petr Krystof and Bruno Kovarik reprising their roles, joined by new drummer Pegas. Bruno and Pegas are important as they would go on to form Hypnos in 1999, another Czech death metal act well worth tracking down. The mix here feels pretty raw, and perhaps there is a little too much hiss for my personal tastes, but the guitars are good and chunky alongside the caustic distortion of the bass, and the entire experience sears like a charcoal grill in August.

The first two tracks will be familiar to anyone with The Rise of Brutality EP, but both are given re-recordings that match the compact, dense, turbulent atmosphere of this album. As such, a bit of the melody has been leached out of them, and the intensity dialed up. "The Truth About Lies" is fairly devastating in this context, though the melodic riff in the middle of "Unnecessarity" seems to lose something in the transition, but it's beefed up with a nice 10-second noise intro. Once we've struck "Short Report on the Ritual Carnage" we're into the field of new material, and the bulk track weaves between a pair of high speed death/thrash riffs that border on frenetic grinding, with a spiffy, sporadic lead injection somewhere near the latter third. "Tears, Hope and Hate" opens with a brief Pegas' rock beat, and then slower walls of magnificent, lumbering chords that set up a minor contrast to the speed of the three precedents, soon to embark on a journey of excellent, biting melodic rhythms that careen through the multi-faceted verse. In particular I love the picking of the riff before 1:30. "Pain of Bleeding Hearts" is the re-named version of "Pain That Doesn't Hurt" from The Rise of Brutality, given a little more spine and aggression here which in this case feels an improvement.

"Rebirth of Blasphemy" is one of my favorites here, opening with a gloomy pipe organ and the sound of terror to a slower, pummeling intensity. Seriously, listen to that curving riff around 1:40, and the vocals are utterly sick in the best way. The Morbid Angel-like breakdown rhythm during the solo is also excellent, if short. "Imperator (Strike Again)" has more of an uplifting, diabolical thrash pulse beating below its skin, evidence the band has not forgotten their roots, updating them to the vitriol of the era. "Stonedream" is a blast, somewhere between Pestilence's Consuming Impulse and the melodic edge of earlier At the Gates, with a little flange running through the bass and some frantic, killer schizoid riffing. The closing instrumental "Believe" seems somewhat out of place compared to the aggression of the rest of the album, but it's not the first time they've ended with one (remember the great "Temporary Being of Insignificancy" which ended Cool Mortification), but its intriguing arches of lead melody work well with the simple backing chords and establish a glorious finale.

Of all Krabathor's material, I feel that Lies would be the album that appeals the most to fans of death metal (American and European), since it moves along rapidly enough to sate the attention deficient but still has enough riffs and musicality for a fan of actual songwriting and not merely blind brutality. It's scorching and political, abandoning the traces of occult/mysticism that the band hinted at on the prior records, and I personally would award it a reliable silver medal after the gold of Cool Mortification.

Highlights: Tears, Hope and Hate, Rebirth of Blasphemy, Believe

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (you scream without response)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - The Rise of Brutality EP (1995)

Coming off the Cool Mortification LP, things were looking up for the Czech's finest representative of the pure death metal genre, and the following year they produced The Rise of Brutality demo, which would feature few of the tracks for the upcoming Lies album in 1995. In that same year, the demo was given a 'legitimate release' with a new intro tacked on, and in 1999 it was re-leased again with a pair of bonus tracks, reworkings from the band's earlier demos. It is this last version of The Rise of Brutality which I am reviewing here.

The first thing you'll notice is that, without abandoning the style of the previous record, Krabathor had gotten faster and more melodic. Whether this was a response to the then-trend of the Scandinavian black and death is unknown, but it still falls in line with Cool Mortification, though after the intro I found the songs to be somewhat less atmospheric. Regardless, the three new originals found on this EP are among the band's very best. Fast, impulsive, and blazing with a poppy distorted tenor to the bass, certainly this was a step up with regards to intensity.

"The Rise of Brutality" intro is nearly 2 minutes of bleak, horrific dark ambient soundscape that leads into the longing melodic salvo of "Pain That Doesn't Hurt", swift to invoke several thundering rhythms, including the hyperblasting of the pre-chorus, with its scads of rabid, punctual guitars that remind me of early Atheist meets early Pestilence. "The Truth About Lies" seems almost an extension of that song, with a lot of thrust and a rather melodic breakdown akin to "Hangar 18" or something, before the decent (but brief) lead. "Unnecessarity" is even more rampant, and I personally enjoyed the violent thrashing, fast pace of the song, not unlike Sadus.

The final two tracks on the EP are "Pacifistic Death" and "Total Destruction". The first is a different version than what you'll find on Only Our Death is Welcome..., and in fact more of a brutal rendition of the original from the band's 1991 demo Feelings of Dethronisation. I have to say that I rather enjoyed this version, it's unforgiving and raw as fuck. "Total Destruction" is another demo track, opening with a copious stream of bass before a pretty killer thrashing rhythm erupts with a forceful blast of bass and guttural secretion. There's also a breakdown thrash riff with some samples over it for effect, and a nice lead section. It's quite a good song, and another of the few reasons to own this release in its extended version.

Sadly, some of the overall value here is lost in that "The Truth About Lies" and "Unnecessarity" are appearing on the band's 1995 album. But just for the intro, the revamped demo covers, and the originally named "Pain That Doesn't Hurt", it's well worth hearing in its later, 1999 format if you've enjoyed the previous full-length Cool Mortification or you simply enjoy a blast of fresh 90s death. These are still some of Krabathor's better songs. The core of the EP, including the intro, was also released as a split with an obscure Russian band Pandemia.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (you must be ready for it)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Cool Mortification (1993)

Cool Mortification is the 2nd full length effort from Czech butchers Krabathor, and a steady improvement over the debut Only Our Death is Welcome... Venturing further into the 'pure' death metal territory that had been laid out by bands like Death and Autopsy years prior, there is simply something to the compositions of this recording that make them endure more than the rest of the band's catalog. The album's not extremely technical, nor are there a load of brazen melodies or distinctions; but despite its blunt simplicity, the traces of thrash that remain and dark atmosphere of the recording combine for what deserves at least the status of a minor cult classic. It was hardly about to blow your mind if you'd been exposed to the Slowly We Rots, Mental Funerals, Scream Bloody Gores or Consuming Impulses of the world, but it's consistent throughout the 8 core pieces of the original album (I could give or take the industrial remix bonus track).

"Faces Under the Ice" opens with a morbidly thrashing rhythm, and you'll notice immediately that the band has undergone a slight change in the guitar tone. There was a single lineup change for this album, with 'Martin' joining Krystof on the guitar, replacing 'Hire' from the previous. Here the notes sound crisper, less bludgeoning than the last album, but the band has compensated with an increased bass presence, and you can finally hear Bruno plodding along with a cool distorted tone. This is a creepy track, especially when the broiling synth-line appears before the excellent melodic death/thrash bridge. "In the Blazing River" is also quite good, a rolling storm of muted melancholy that benefits greatly from the tight drumming, in particular the fills behind the opening riffs. At around 1:30 the song reaches a morbid, clinical thrash riff that kicks serious ass despite its understatedness. "Evil Corners of Mind" briefly resounds with a quitely screaming synth line and deep drums that transform into a choppy barrage of chords, and there's a disjointed groove to the verse which works well beneath Petr's gutturals and the squealing of the guitar lines. The bass gets a little wild in the bridge, and the solos are quite claustrophobic and evil. "The Loop" features an excellent intro section with synths brimming along clean guitars, compelling the listener through a very downtrodden, lush atmosphere before the meat of the guitars begins to squeeze its way through the grinder. Excellent fucking song!

"Without the Following Dawn" again dominates, thanks to the great bass haunting the resonant chords of the intro, and a riff that reminds me slightly of "Among the Living" from Anthrax. But it gets a lot more interesting, and sinister thanks to Bruno giving a four string freakout the likes of which simply didn't happen on the debut. "Forget the Gods" rivals the epic "Preparing Your End" from Only Our Death is Welcome..., but this time it's simply better, a slowly moving journey through almost glacial, choppy brutal death rhythms, with a lot of added reverb to the vocals that make them all the more tormenting. "Absence of Life" is another churning track, but the wailing, atmospheric leads of the bridge make up for what seems a fairly standard pace for the entire environment of Cool Mortification. The final track "Temporary Being of Insignificancy", an instrumental, begins with perhaps the most beautiful moment on any Krabathor album, a lush garden of synth sound that welcomes Bruno's popping, thudding momentum and a bleeding stream of guitar melody over a somber set of writhing, thrashing chords. Seriously, the song stole my breath away and I wondered if Krabathor would be capable of repeating such a graceful aesthetic in the future. The "Absence of Mind Mix" of "Absence of Life" hardly feels worth it, one of those early industrial death metal experiments that could barely give Fear Factory a run for their money, but to be fair, it's only a bonus track.

Cool Mortification is in my opinion the best album from Krabathor, and certainly the first I would reach for when in need of a Czech death fix. Armored by both nostalgia and atmosphere, it's a great album to spin when you're in need of those early years of wonderment within the genre, easily on par with a lot of the USDM coming out in the first half of the 90s. Brooding, hypnotic, and never in a rush to get anywhere, this is one you can soak up while you're down in your catacomb, performing diabolic experiments in science or just taking a lot drag off a fat joint. You may just want to stop the album before the remix.

Highlights: Faces Under the Ice, In the Blazing River, The Loop, Without the Following Dawn, Temporary Being of Insignificancy

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (where are your gods? I want to know it!)

http://www.krabathor.tk/

Krabathor - Only Our Death is Welcome (1992)

Of course all death metal had its roots in thrash metal, but in some cases you can hear it a lot more clearly than others. Krabathor is one such example, at least on their debut Only Our Death is Welcome, which, like most of the band's discography, has come and gone with very little recognition. The Czech Republic is a country known more for its cult black metal acts such as Root or Master's Hammer, but this band was proof that extremity of another kind was once alive and well in the region. Today you might hear a lot more Czech grindcore or progressive tech-grind than straight up death, but in 1992, the world was a different place, and it was Krabathor's to take.

This is the work of one Petr Krystof, who is the sole member of Krabathor to survive the band's entire career, though he's currently put it on hiatus, and it's unknown at this time whether he will continue. Through the years, he has been joined by a crop of musicians, including the prolific Paul Speckmann, who would partake in Krabathor from 1999 until around the time Petr called it off. Aside from songwriting, Krystof handles the guitars and vocals. Here his playing is heavily influenced by chunky 80s thrash/speed metal ala S.O.D., Sepultura, old Metallica, Slayer and the like, with the brutal vocals channeling a mix of Jeff Becera, John Tardy, Martin van Drunen and a mix of other prototypical death metal frontmen.

Only Our Death is Welcome consists of 10 tracks, but of these, three are brief instrumentals serving as intros or intervals. "Royal Crown", "Before the Carnage" and "Worried Childhood" are all composed more or less with a keyboard, and I've always enjoyed the placement of such tidbits on early death and thrash metal albums, "Worried Childhood" with an additional guitar in there. It's true that none of them really fit with the music surrounding them, but if existing simply to an enhance the atmosphere of what would otherwise be a fairly stock death/thrash metal record, then they get a pass.

One of the things that strikes out at me with regards to this debut is that the sound is pretty solid, not only for 1992 but even by today's standards. The guitars are extremely meaty, but straightforward, with effects only used for the solos and a few bridge segments. The leads are competent enough, and the drumming of Petr Kopecek are crashing and livid. The bass seems a little weaker in the mix of the record, but the guitars themselves are quite thick and offer an almost unexpected compensation. Most of the vocals are done in Krystof's dull-headed grunts, but he'll occasionally offer a counter-sneer against the more deathlike phrasing. For an album coming out of the Czech Republic in the early 90s, I'm more than satisfied with the sound.

Where the album does falter a little is in the songwriting. Not that I'd kick it out of bed for crackers, but though the majority of the riffs pummel along the old school death metal tempos, there are very few I'd consider truly standout. "Psychodelic" follows the intro "Royal Crown" with a steady stomping thrash riff one might expect out of S.O.D. or Sacred Reich in the previous decade. As the pace picks up for the bridge, it reminds me more of early Sepultura riffing, with a trace of Kreator. The riffs sort of collide into each new segment of the song, and the part I probably liked best was the thick, doomy chords over which the first brief lead guitar is weaved. The second lead section is also quite good, if a little rough around the edges, but the dull thrash rhythm that connects the two is a little lacking. I liked "Eternal" more in general, though it opens with a similar, thick thrash riff, the bridge section rocks, and the leads sound vibrant over an old school, slowly crawling death metal riff.

"Convict to Contempt" opens with some charging, choppy atmospheric chords over a steady surging of the drums, then cycling through a few grinding, grooving thrash rhythms under some of Petr's most guttural vocals on the album. "Pacifistic Death" takes over with a surgical feeling technical death/thrash rhythm before interrupting itself with a few less interesting riffs, but once more the lead section is pulled off rather well. "Preparing Your End" is a bit long at 7:30, but it weaves a fairly morose course, from moody opening to another semi-technical thrash piece sorted into a good number of riffs. "Killing My Wrath" actually has some of the best rhythms on the album, like the spacious breaks around 2:30 and a faster rhythm near the close that reminds me a little of something which Death might have included on their first two albums. Only Our Death is Welcome ends with "Madness of the Dark Shadow", which is my single favorite track, thanks to the dense thrashing of the guitars and the subtle, numbing vibe that seems to evaporate right through the guitar chords.

It may have cheesy cover art, and it may not be half as brutal as much of the other death metal arriving in 1992, but I actually think Only Our Death is Welcome is a solid debut, and might very well still hold some appeal if you're into the production of earlier records in the genre, or rather the formative years where many were crossing the bridge between death and black (ala Cancer, Sepultura, Protector, etc.) This is not the best work of Krabathor, but it seems to have aged rather well, and I may get a kick out of it now even more than I did when I was first exposed to the band.

Highlights: Convict to Contempt, Killing My Wrath, Madness of the Dark Shadow

Verdict: Win [7/10] (I'm torment, but don't kneel)

http://www.krabathor.tk/