Soul Massacre "Despair Of Human Being" CD

Descripción Another hidden gem from the wealthy Czech metal scene comes in the form of the death metal commando Soul Massacre. Formed in 2014 they had released one EP and one split before having dropped their full length debut “Purgatory System” in 2017. I had a quick listen to this one on YT and it surely is a solid piece of old school death metal goodness. In 2021 they are back with the follow-up “Despair of Human Being” and this one for sure is a big step-up for the lads. 11 tracks and 40 minutes of beefy and straight forward death metal is what is on offer here with enough riffs and hooks for each fan of the genre.
Two aspects immediately caught my attention. On the one hand they have changed their singer, switching from a female to a male one. From the snippets I have heard from the previous album the lady in charge has done a really decent job, but the pipes of new boy Step have just much more power and capacity. While I am always a bit skeptical when it comes to female (lead) vocals I came to appreciate some really great performances, but especially within the sub-genre of classic meat and potatoes death metal the bigger volume of the lungs seems to give some extra-power when growling like a beast. Of course also the technic is relevant, and Step has a nice style of keeping things varied and letting loose whenever possible. The second area where things have significantly improved is the overall sound which is just phenomenal here. Crunchy guitars, dynamic drums and an overall thick yet clear production puts this album right up there with the genre’s best.
That being said these details won’t be of much help in case the performances on the instruments and especially the songwriting lacks. I can gladly report that Soul Massacre seem to have taken their time to write some really great tracks and work on their skills. The first song “Their Land” sets the tempo with rapid fire riffing and bludgeoning blast-beats. Infectious grooves flow throughout the track, seamlessly joining forces with unforgiving drum segments. Soul Massacre have no problem shifting into higher gears whenever the chaos ramps up significantly, with enticing melodies weaving in and out of the unravelling onslaught. The palm-muted guitars are rapid, and Soul Massacre are not afraid to throw in some tempo changes and rhythm shifts to mix things up a bit. There are some really outstanding solos like e.g. in “Behind the Scars”, lending the whole affair an extra portion of melody. That being said the music always stays fierce and leaves only little room to rest.
“Despair of Human Being” harnesses all the key elements listeners expect from death metal, but Soul Massacre have managed to combined the sheer aggression with moments of melody, groove and tempting pacing which will lure the listener back for more. The diverse offerings on display and the polished and very professional way of the whole package will certainly satisfy the long standing legions of death metal aficionados, but might also allow the music to grab the attention of metal fans in general. Soul Massacre do not reinvent the death metal wheel by any means, but as long as they put out top notch stuff like this I will not complain. Do not sleep on this highly talented band!
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvhfRN9mZRA