Down among the dead Men - S/T

(CD Album Review)

****

Dave Ingram makes a great return!!!

The love child of Dave Ingram and Swedish all rounder Rogga Johansson was never going to be pretty! With that in mind it is still a great surprise at how great this brutal, bewildering album is.

The band self titled full length falls bang on thirty minutes with only one track passing the three minute mark. It's one of the most punishing half hours you've had in a long time. Rogga Johansson's shredding on this awesome and strangely melodic in places but not too much! It's a Death Metal album without a shadow of a doubt but theres a Crust, Grind vein running through it that has been long missing Death Metal for far too long. It's very reminiscent of the early Death Metal and Grindcore coming out of the UK in the late 80's and early 90's which is so refreshing and above all it's dark! Another long forgotten trait in the genre today. With the short songs and the crust feel the album has it's worth pointing out the production is slick and clear as hell like later Grindcore such as Nasum or Rotten sound.

The highlight of course is hearing Dave Ingram back in action. After Benediction and Bolt Thrower he had a brief fling with Downlord but he's kept a low profile. He sounds more powerful then ever on this album and it's great to have him back. It's hard to pick a stand out track as the songs are short they melt together in the chamber pot that is the album. It works as a complete body of work rather then individual songs.Anyway if you want a slab of no nonsense Death Metal / Grindcore hybrid done the old way. The proper way. Look no further!

Review by Joe Denby