J-Man
Welcome to the Slaughterhouse
With an album title that translates over to "Gamleby (the band's hometown) Slaughterhouse" and all-star cast consisting of prolific death metal musicians like Dan Swanö, Rogga Johansson, and Ed Warby, Slakthus Gamleby is bound to be a winner. It's pretty safe to say that this assumption is correct, considering the sheer level of death metal intensity on Demiurg's third effort. There are a lot of Swedish death metal supergroups, but I don't hesitate in putting Demiurg up there with the best. Expect brutal riffing, atmospheric keyboards, and even some melodic sections on this album. Slakthus Gamleby isn't the most innovative death metal album you'll ever here, but the compositions and musicianship are so spectacular that it's easy to excuse something like that. If you're a fan of the musicians involved, I can't recommend this album enough. Don't miss out on this slaughterhouse from Gamleby!
The music here is death metal with a heavy emphasis on melody and progressiveness, even though this is far from melodic death metal. In that respect, I'm often reminded of Dan Swanö's own Edge of Sanity. There are a lot of keyboards here that give the album a Crimson II-ish vibe (which isn't surprising considering two members from Demiurg participated on that album). Despite the use of keyboards and melody, this album is still quite brutal at times. Expect lots of fast riffing accompanied by deep guttural growls courtesy of Rogga Johansson. On the vocal part of the equation, you can also expect some female vocals from Marjan Wellman (from gothic metal band Autumn). Although this may turn off the death metal purists, it adds some nice variation for people like me. Instrumentally, the musicianship is obviously fantastic. The drumming from Ed Warby (Hail of Bullets, Ayreon, Star One, Gorefest) is especially noteworthy. His style fits the music perfectly. The keyboards from Dan Swanö add just the right amount of atmosphere, not to forget about his terrific guitar leads. Johan Berglund's bass playing is great as well - it really fits the music like a glove. Picking a standout track is pretty difficult, especially considering how great each song is. With a running time just under 40 minutes, there isn't much room for fluff. Slakthus Gamleby is all killer, no filler. How many death metal albums can you really say that about?
The production is wonderful. It's no secret that Dan Swanö is a great producer, and this is further proof of that. His own Unisound Studios has some of the best mixing and mastering in all of Scandinavia.
Conclusion:
Slakthus Gamleby is a terrific album by Demiurg. Although the obviously modern Swedish style may turn off raw old school death metal fans, it is essential for anybody who likes bands like Edge of Sanity and Grave. I'll go with a big 4 (almost 4.5) star rating on this one - Slakthus Gamleby really took me by surprise! If you're a fan of the musicians involved, it'd be a crime not to check out this CD. Highly recommended!