Despite the band being around since the early 1990s I admit not being familiar with this band, which seem to have an Entombed-like Death Metal, rough around all edges. There’s not much information revealed by the digipack that I hold. No lyrics (are there any?), no thanks list, no indication of the band’s background. The sleeve artwork and digipack design are great though. Maybe the band wants to be judged by the CD’s contents.
Ah yes, the contents….crucially “Upright Decay” is let down by weak drumming. Grunting vocal articulation is stifled although I felt this abrasiveness fitted well with the brutality of the album. The mixing seems to have an aversion for the vocals and guitar solos and many times I found myself just hearing the riffs, which are great, mind you. It’s obvious from tracks such as ‘Warhammer’ and ‘The Life I Die’ that Casket know what it takes to come up with impressive specimens of old-school Death Metal.
However, despite also the band’s longevity (or maybe because of this precise reason) I was expecting something more consistent so I’m not entirely convinced by this one.
