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░ ██ ██ Artist: The Lurking Fear ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Out of the Voiceless Grave █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2017 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-09-14 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Death Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Century Media Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ An interesting anecdote I saw told was a fineûart █
█ professorÆs first exercise with his MasterÆs █
█ students. He shows them a Jackson Pollock █
█ painting, and asks them to write why it is good. █
█ After receiving the wonderfully pretentious █
█ responses, the professor reveals that the ôPollock █
█ paintingö was actually his apron from his studio, █
█ hopefully teaching the students that there may be █
█ more to judging good and bad art than feelings. █
█ The Lurking Fear aims to channel this analogy into █
█ the realm of oldûstyle death metal, hoping that █
█ listeners will hear their debut Out of the █
█ Voiceless Grave and marvel at this unearthed gem █
█ of the early 90s. █
█ Being a supergroup featuring Tomas Lindberg, █
█ Adrian Erlandsson, and Jonas Stalhammar (among █
█ others), The Lurking Fear aims to look resolutely █
█ backward towards the green pastures of Death, █
█ Master, Autopsy, and Nihilist for their riffs. █
█ This makes for short songs, a whole bunch of █
█ thrash beats, and a healthy dose of crust █
█ enveloping the proceedings. Voiceless Grave wants █
█ to sound familiar, to trigger the nostalgia for █
█ the great metal of old while making it easily █
█ digestible at the same time through flawless █
█ musicianship and a hearty, well-rounded █
█ production. █
█ As far as individual songs go, ôTongued with Foul █
█ Flamesö is a winner, but it reminds me much more █
█ of Disfear and The Great Deceiver than classic █
█ death. ôThe Infernal Dreadö seems to represent █
█ what The Lurking Fear was trying to achieve with █
█ the whole of Voiceless Grave, compellingly merging █
█ rollicking crust with early Dismember and a gnarly █
█ Autopsy worshiping bridge thatÆs simple and █
█ effective. Many other songs, as curious listeners █
█ will doubtlessly find, have plenty to enjoy in █
█ them as well, as there arenÆt any real clunkers on █
█ offer here. █
█ Given the sheer skill of the members involved, the █
█ competency and enjoyment donÆt come as a surprise. █
█ Hearing these largely concise and well-written █
█ songs is a treat, but the old death metal is more █
█ of a facsimile than anything. This is a problem █
█ for a record billed almost incessantly as classic █
█ death metal, which is the curve it is to be graded █
█ on lest we embrace the ôdeath of the artistö █
█ nonsense. This is all too structured, too █
█ meticulous, too perfect and too aware of itself as █
█ throwback instead of a freestanding project to █
█ stand a chance in the old-school arena. ItÆs fun █
█ enough, but it lacks that inimitable imperfection █
█ of the classics. Perhaps itÆs due to vision, or █
█ more specifically the lack of a meaningful one. █
█ This sounds like a bunch of hyperûcompetent █
█ musical overachievers trying to emulate instead of █
█ create and quickly becomes rather a tasty comfort █
█ food. Voiceless Grave isnÆt vital in any sense, █
█ and misses the point that Master and Autopsy were █
█ not trying to create ôold-school death metalö on █
█ their great works; they had a musical vision and █
█ saw it through with blinders on. The Lurking Fear █
█ have a vision, and itÆs celebrating old-school █
█ death metal by making something like it; theyÆre █
█ not, and this is crucial, following their own muse █
█ but merely imitating those of others. This is █
█ especially obvious in the core of the record, █
█ which is very similar to At the Gates. The █
█ songwriting appears to follow patterns well █
█ familiar to the members (their own muses) infused █
█ with the ideas of others to spice it up. ItÆs like █
█ a readyûmade solution to writing songs in a new █
█ vein, and while not wholly objectionable overall █
█ it is outright inimical to greatness. █
█ Voiceless Grave is a good imitation, but no more █
█ than that. It succeeds in being easily enjoyable █
█ and bringing nostalgia to the forefront, which as █
█ everyone knows is the most appetizing worm to █
█ critics next to ôbreaking the rulesö or █
█ ôinnovation.ö This record will be well-received █
█ and a lot of people, myself included, will enjoy █
█ its charms. Yet to call it anything more than █
█ ôgoodö is folly because itÆs not in the same █
█ league as its influences. More an ôinterest █
█ projectö than a ôpassion project,ö The Lurking █
█ Fear is an outlet for impulses that wouldnÆt have █
█ made any of the members the important and █
█ influential figures they are today. Perhaps past █
█ victories are a fine excuse to rest on oneÆs █
█ laurels a bit (however competently), but that █
█ doesnÆt mean we have to pretend Voiceless Grave is █
█ great because The Winterlong and At the Gates █
█ were. A fun but limited romp, itÆs easy to like █
█ Out of the Voiceless Grave but much harder to █
█ recommend it for those looking for a true heir to █
█ top-tier classic death metal. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Out of the Voiceless Grave 1:03 ░
░ 2. Vortex Spawn 2:49 ░
░ 3. The Starving Gods of Old 3:37 ░
░ 4. The Infernal Dread 3:31 ░
░ 5. With Death Engraved in Their Bones 3:34 ░
░ 6. Upon Black Winds 3:25 ░
░ 7. Teeth of the Dark Plains 3:08 ░
░ 8. The Cold Jaws of Death 4:26 ░
░ 9. Tongued with Foul Flames 2:38 ░
░ 10. Winged Death 4:39 ░
░ 11. Tentacles of Blackened Horror 4:20 ░
░ 12. Beneath Menacing Sands 4:59 ░
░ 42:09 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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