Time Signature
Don't fuck with the dead...
Genre: death metal
Having more than survived the perils of releasing a sophomore album in the form of 2012's "Godless", the Danish death metal act recently released their third full-length album "Rise".
If "Godless" was a death metal masterpiece, then we need a word for something that's even better than a masterpiece. On "Godless", Deus Otiosus went back to the roots of death metal, shaving away anything that resembled contemporary death metal cheese, and started molding the core of death metal proper into something truly amazing. On "Rise", the Danish deathsters take their music to an even higher level. The listener is treated to old school death metal riffs, and this album has a stronger thrashy edge than the predecessor, which works brilliantly. Intertwined with these death-thrash elements are occasional blastbeats. Unlike many other extreme death metal acts, Deus Otiosus do not overuse blastbeats, so every single grindcore-oriented passage hits you like a bullet train. What is more, they are not afraid to inject a bit of melody into their onslaught of death metal madness, as heard in 'Fall of the West'.
Apart from their mastery of old school aesthetics, Deus Otiosus understand the power of the riff and they are not only excellent riffsmiths but also excellent songwriters, and the musicianship is top notch. The production is unpolished, but not lo-fi and suits the music very well.
"Rise" is another bull's eye from Deus Otiosus, and, frankly, this is one of the best death metal releases I have ever heard.