Vehemency
On their eponymoys debut EP, initially self-released last year but now reissued by Abyss Records, Bodyfarm explores the territories of simple old school death metal, though luckily the material doesn’t fall to any exact geographical location musically, at least not too evidently - I think that pretty much everything is melted together here (with perhaps a slight dominance of the Swedish underground), forming an enjoyable but definitely unsurprising little album.
In spite of being their first release, the band sounds really mature: not only the production is bright and massive, but the execution of instruments seems flawless in all departments. Song-wise, the EP starts with a rather unnecessary and pompous symphonic intro that already takes a nice amount of the EP’s running time, but after that ”Bodyfarm” attacks with menacing tremolo riffs and blast beats not unlike Bloodbath - the similar style is later utilized on ”Heartraped”. ”Final Redemption” and ”Slaves of War” then, on the other hand, focus on slower tempo, chugging riffs and morbid atmosphere, belonging to my personal favourites of the whole.
Bodyfarm is ultimately rooted in old school values without going any further in innovation. What they batter here is well done and engaging but it also feels like a brief teaser of what’s to come, that’s what I hope at least. Thus said, Bodyfarm doesn’t seem to be in its full glory here on a short EP release with mere four tracks, but perhaps I’m able to capture a better picture of the group when a full-length arrives.