MASSACRE — Resurgence (review)

MASSACRE — Resurgence album cover Album · 2021 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Resurgence" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Massacre. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in October 2021. It´s the successor to "Back from Beyond" from 2014, but there´s not a single remaining member left from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. Massacre formed as far back as 1983 and have disbanded and reunited many times since in different constellations. The 2021 version of Massacre features original lead vocalist Kam Lee but other than him no one else who have previously played with the band. Lee has among others brought with him his former The Grotesquery bandmates in guitarist Rogga Johansson and drummer Brynjar Helgetun.

Rick Rozz guitar riffs and playing style were always defining features of Massacre´s sound along with Lee´s growling vocals (although the latter didn´t perform on "Back from Beyond" (2014)), so what does a Massacre album without Rozz sound like? Well...the guitar tone is not as distinct sounding as the guitar tone that Rozz is known for, but other than that the material on "Resurgence" are actually very true to the core old school death metal style of early 90s Massacre. Age has not caught up with Lee yet and his brutal yet intelligible and commanding growling vocals are a joy to listen to. The riffs are relatively simple and straigt forward old school death metal riffs with a lot of thrash metal influences (and some pretty well played solos), and the drumming is equally simple. The lyrics deal with surreal/occult themed horror (H.P. Lovecraft in particular), which is a topic suiting the material well.

"Resurgence" is well produced and features a sound production suiting the music style. The tracks aren´t that different from each other, but featuring only 10 tracks and a 40:14 minutes long playing time it´s not a major issue, and it´s not unusual for releases in the genre, that you have to give them quite a few listens before tracks begin to stand out. This album isn´t the worst sinner in that respect though, and it´s ultimately relatively catchy. Honestly I didn´t expect much when I received the news that Massacre had regrouped for another run and a new album ("Back from Beyond" (2014) was solid and enjoyable enough but didn´t blow my socks off), but after listening to "Resurgence" I´ve been pleasantly surprised. It´s arguably not an extraordinary release, but it´s a good solid old school death metal release, and fans of the genre are recommended giving it a listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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