The Lurking Fear – Death, Madness, Horror, Decay
Release Date: 19th November 2021
Label: Century Media Records
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Genre: Old School Swedish Death Metal
FFO: Autopsy, Endseeker, LIK, Grave.
Review By: Rick Farley
Within the last several years, Metal has seen a resurgence of (OSDM) bands. Some with young kids at the helm and some with old, grizzled veterans. The late 80’s to mid-90’s produced some of the greatest Death Metal albums to ever grace our ears. From Florida to Sweden, that era contains an abundance of Death Metal masterpieces which will likely never again be repeated. Imagine how difficult it would now be to even stand with that crowd. Hailing from Sweden themselves and full of genre veterans, The Lurking Fear look to release an album worthy of that time period. Is Death, Madness, Horror, Decay the celebratory love affair with Old School Swedish Death Metal album that we all deserve? Well, that depends on what you’re expecting out of it.
Some people are going to label The Lurking Fear as a supergroup, which would be incorrect. The musicians involved here have been grinding every known style of DM since those early days. This is the grizzled veteran ilk of the new wave of bands. Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates fame probably being the most recognized name here and his bandmates, have been associated with other bands including Embalmed, Paradise Lost, Disfear, and The Crown. The pedigree is there.
Death, Madness, Horror, Decay on the surface should be an album that I love. The musicians involved, the filthy music elements. The crust-flecked chainsaw riffs and gritty screams. The heaviness, horror themes, and 90’s Dismember influence just scream Album of the Year Right? Unfortunately, not quite.
There are some great songs here, though. Funeral Abyss has an early Obituary feel in parts of the song, it’s slower to mid-tempo, heavy and ominous. Architects of Madness gives off old slayer vibes that will make even the most hardened metalhead giddy. The bludgeoning In a Thousand Horrors Crowned brings some Death n Roll for all you early Entombed fans. On Ageless Evil, drummer Adrian Erlandsson thrashes his way through tremolo picked buzzsaw guitars, down tuned chunky riffs and Lindberg’s sick mix of screams and growls.
The problem with Death, Madness, Horror Decay is that it tries too hard to be classic. It wants you to know exactly where it comes from and will go through every banality to get there. Which makes it seem stale. The album wants to be great, and it tries hard, but there are just no surprises here. It sounds a bit paint
by numbers. Some short songs should have been scrapped to flesh out better songs, like Kaleidoscopic Mutations, which features a guest vocal spot by Autopsy legend Chris Reifert. It’s a great album moment that feels unfinished. Even some of Lindberg’s vocals are a negative, he tries hard to recreate the higher pitched vocals of a band like Pestilence. It’s a screechy yelling delivery that just detracts from the album. The first three tracks feature this style prominently.
Unfortunately, it must be judged against those that have come before it and by its peers. Mental Funeral, and Left Hand Path (RIP LG Petrov) are the standards. I know that’s harsh to compare against, but Death, Madness, Horror, Decay should have been top tier. There are current bands making high quality (OSDM) albums with a lesser pedigree.
The album does sound cohesive, and it’s recorded well. It has a nice mix of modern recording technology with the old buzzsaw sound. It’s crusty, heavy, fast, ugly and has ill intent. Which does count for something.
I could see some diehards loving Death, Madness, Horror Decay. If this is a style that you absolutely love, and you’re a forgiving spirit, have at it. You’ll be content. For those that expected more and is less lenient, it’s at least an album just solid enough to get some enjoyment of jamming it from time to time. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s not going on repeat either. 
(3 / 5)
