UMUR
"Al Insane... The (Re)Birth of Abderrahmane" is the debut full-length studio album by Algerian death metal act Lelahell. The album was released through Horror Pain Gore Death Productions in August 2014. Lelahell was formed in 2010 by Lelahel (guitars, vocals), and the first release by the band, which was the 2012 "Al Intihar" EP, was a one-man project. On "Al Insane... The (Re)Birth of Abderrahmane" the lineup consists of Lelahel (guitars, vocals), Nihil (bass) and SlaveBlaster (drums).
The music on the album is technically well played death metal featuring both deep growling vocals and higher pitched aggressive vocals. The latter occasionally provide the music with a blackened element, but other than that, the music is pure death metal. While the music does feature a couple of nods toward ethnic Algerian music (some of the lyrics are in their native language), it´s a minor part of the band´s overall sound.
The sound is pretty massive and generally rather brutal, and it´s not audible that Lelahell are a three-piece. Lelahell are a very well playing band, and the drumming by SlaveBlaster is especially noteworthy because of the controlled speed, precision, and variation that it brings to the music. The songwriting is both inspired and occasionally interesting, but it´s not the most original sounding death metal release out there, and few of the tracks stick after the album has stopped playing.
The sound production is professional, clear, and powerful and it´s overall a suiting production for the brutal music. The bass drums are triggered quite a bit, and that´s probably an aquired taste, but it´s not an issue if you enjoy that type of drum sound. The rhythm guitar tone is actually rather interesting, as it´s very close to the guitar tone on the last couple of releases by Meshuggah, but it´s only the guitar tone and nothing else on "Al Insane... The (Re)Birth of Abderrahmane" that reminds me of the Swedes.
"Al Insane... The (Re)Birth of Abderrahmane" is overall a quality death metal album, and while the songwriting could have been slightly more distinct sounding, features like high level musicianship and a powerful sound production pull in a positive direction. Lack of an original sound isn´t always a huge issue, as long as the music is delivered with passion and conviction, and that´s certainly the case here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.