Construcdead Endless Echo
by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer
Vigorous, vehement and extremely violent are the key words to describe the onslaught these Swedish death metal vets unleash on the very first track of their fifth full-length effort. Vocalist Jens Broman has learnt his lessons from Phil Anselmo only too well, but just like the rest of the band managed to take what he needed from his influences and discard the rest, developing a sound of his own which is as compelling as it is unique.
While the band’s stomping grooves and pendulating air-tight tempos owe as much to Pantera as to classic death metal, they manage to balance and combine the two with staggering ease, guitarist Christian Ericson continually grabbing spotlight with his virtuosic rhythm parts.
But variety and deviation from the pattern don’t end here. Construcdead open up to their full potential when they alternate their brutal full-on assault with melodic tranquil parts. Adding dimension to the tested formula and allowing the band to venture beyond the confines of the genre, these interludes really succeed at taking the proceedings onto another level.
Knowing how to create a distinct atmosphere, but also how to break the routine and give another dimension to their vision, Construcdead shape a bold, virtuosic vision of death metal with an exalted mystical touch.
Label: Black Lodge
Online: www.construcdead.com ; www.myspace.com/construcdead
Band:
Christian Ericson, guitar
Jens Broman, vocals
Rickard Dahlberg, guitar, backing vocals
Thomas Wallander, bass
Nicke Karlsson, drums
Track Listing:
1. Sedated Morning
2. My Haven
3. Endless Echoes
4. A Goddess Breaches Through Me
5. Disfigured Beauty
6. Mephisto
7. No Exit
8. Transfixed
9. Tragic Kingdom
10. Spiritual Shift
11. The One Beside Me
12. Cataclysm
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10