UMUR
"Into The Maw Of Death" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Grand Cadaver. The album was released through Majestic Mountain Records in October 2021. Grand Cadaver formed in 2020 and comprise several veterans of the Swedish death metal scene including lead vocalist Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, The Halo Effect). It´s the follow-up release to the "Madness Comes" EP from February 2021. Some versions of "Into The Maw Of Death" features the four tracks from the "Madness Comes" EP as bonus material.
Stylistically Grand Cadaver play an old school Swedish death metal style which is both brutal, heavy, and sometimes a bit more melodic. This is not melodeath, but rather old school death metal with a melodic sensibility. Stanne has an edgy angry sounding growl, and the instrumental musicianship is on a high level on all posts. It´s easy to hear that these guys are seasoned veterans of the scene. They have the skills and the know-how in terms of effective songwriting.
What they lack though is curiosity and the burning ambition to achieve something extraordinary with their music, which young upcoming musicians often possess, and therefore the outcome may be professional, relatively memorable, well produced, and overall effectful, but it´s also very standard quality for a retro old school death metal release. It´s enjoyable and entertaining while it plays, but it is not a release begging for repeated plays. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.