Severe Torture – Torn From The Jaws of Death
Release Date: 7th June 2024
Label: Season of Mist
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Aborted.
Review By: Jeff Finch
What’s in a name? Sometimes nothing, sometimes everything. With a name like Severe Torture, it’s quite easy to envision what that thing is (that is in the name): an idea of the type of music that’s about to be consumed. And in the case of Severe Torture, it’s a pretty solid indication, for this Dutch death metal group, while in no way, shape, or form severely torturing us, has the lyrics to boast such a name and a documented history of producing some excellent death metal, constantly evolving while still maintaining that genre-specific heft. With this new record Torn from the Jaws of Death, fans of early Severe Torture might be a bit caught off guard by just how clean it sounds, but no one will be surprised by the quality of the performances.
After jamming this record a multitude of times, one thing that springs to mind immediately is just how much this differs from the first album I listened to, Feasting on Blood. Thin production and savagely low vocals introduced me to a brutal death metal band content with just pummeling listeners, while this newest one, admittedly 23 years in the future, shows a band that has matured their sound but not lost any of their skill or energy. What this newest Severe Torture sounds like, quite honestly, is a version of Deicide, with the killer riffs, fist pumping energy, dynamic percussive work, and a vocalist who has mastered his low register, at times sounding like Glen Benton himself, but far from a copycat.
Tremolo riffs, dissonant chugs, blast beats and double bass, all of this hits us with the intensity of a battalion forging ahead into war; at times melody driven, at times blisteringly paced, the guitars on this record take us on a sonic roller coaster, our final track Tear All the Flesh Off the Earth a testament to the talent on display, the furiously strummed riffs giving way to a slower, melodic mid-tempo riff that gives us listeners a moment of respite, as most of this song is a fight between the drummer and the guitarist for who can play faster. As the song nears the end, the music takes on a somber tone, an ‘end of the road’ feeling to it, restrained in its pace but not in its intensity, as the instruments are clearly being played with consuming emotion and precision.
Opener The Death of Everything wastes absolutely no time in getting us going, the drums beat mercilessly before a wicked tremolo riff hits us in the face, the combination an aural onslaught that leads into blast beats and the deep, dark growls of our vocalist, who keeps pace effortlessly with the consistently blistering musical pace. While the ‘chorus,’ if one can really call it that, is merely the repetition of the track name, that unwavering musical maelstrom keeps listeners engaged, somewhat ignoring the lack of creativity with the chorus. When the song shifts into a lower gear and slows down a bit, the songs take on an ever more powerful feel, the riffs chugged as low as the vocalist, while our drummer fills the void with an insane display of technical prowess, before the song shifts right back into the main groove.
It’s these shifts in sound during each song that makes the album so enjoyable to listen to; while blast beats and inhumanely paced riffs are something I genuinely enjoy, when a band has the foresight and the wherewithal to know that shifting gears and time signatures will only make a song more diverse, if not outright more catchy and enjoyable, then it’s clear they’ve got the right level of self awareness and care for their craft. Each song begins with an absolute bang, so there’s almost no room for catching one’s breath or, at least, taking a moment to wait for a song to go all in. No, instead, we’re treated to some wicked snare blasts as Those Who Wished Me Dead begins, black metal riffing ripped straight from the early 90s to open The Pinnacle of Suffering, and all manner of excellent riffs in each other track. Those early moments of each track set the tone for the song and ultimately allow the listener to experience the barrage as promised by death metal; there’s no atmospheric build-ups or trippy progressive breakdowns; no, what Severe Torture brings to the table is caveman riffs, pummeling percussion, and a whole lot of aggression.
Though it’s difficult to fault them for this, it’s this consistent intensity, even interspersed with those excellent moments of melody, where the album falls a tad short. Every song has a similar approach and a similar sound, which is to say very good, so it feels as though it’s one massive song, in a way, and the only way to really tell them apart, when you’re just jamming along, is by the ‘chorus,’ if the band decides to include one that breaks itself off of the main groove. Still, that’s a minor gripe, in the grand scheme, for a band that’s been kicking ass for decades and has really matured their sound from low production brutal death metal to high production, thrashy death metal.
(4 / 5)
