|
|
|
|
Burly, muscular thrash with death metal heft – or perhaps, alternately, spirited death metal with thrashy momentum? Either way, this Swedish quintet (having already left the building and reformed under the equally ho-hum name Mental Shock) approximate a well-considered mix of genres, getting in and subsequently leaving the building with this four-songer inside of twenty minutes. The rhythm section rumbles and clatters along in a simultaneously leaden and sprightly manner. Guitar riffs sound like a locomotive riding off the rails as if the conductor (no pun, thank you) had a cardiac arrest while listening to Arch Enemy’s Stigmata. Speaking of which, frontman Oliver Palmquist sounds like he learned every last death metal phrasing, tonal and pitch variation from erstwhile AE barker Johan Liiva. No really, there are derivatives, there are dead ringers and then there’s this. Tribute? Dutiful worship? Cloning on a level paralleled only by Daisy the sheep (RIP)? You decide. Any which way, it’s still a groovy party overall, one for which I’d like to see a follow-up. Trivia note: this was the first demo recorded at Blueflame Studio, owned and operated by Teddy Möller of Loch Vostok/Mayadome semi-fame, who also makes a cursory appearance here.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Ritual Carnage |
| 2. Children of the Slaughterhouse |
| 3. War Serenade |
| 4. Fear Asylum |
: 18:50
| Buy other Conductor albums |
