Benediction aren’t necessarily the most widely recognised death metal band going. While there at the genre’s origins and reasonably popular in their early days, the Birmingham combo remained at the top of the European scene up until the excellent Transcend the Rubicon (1993). Competition soon began to overtake them, and their career underwent several years of stagnation despite their albums being generally well received. After 12 years of no new material, the Brits are back with the ruthless album, Scriptures. Dave Ingram, the band’s singer from 1990 to 1998 has returned to the fold after the departure of Dave Hunt (also the vocalist for Anaal Nathrakh) who held the band’s mic for 21 years. The return of their prodigal son, who left to join Bolt Thrower, restores the groups old image thanks to his singing that is marvellously representative of traditional death metal. Despite Scott Atkins very contemporary production (Cradle of Filth, Vader…), Benediction’s style remains fiercely anchored in the 90s, when the genre still allowed itself to show some of its thrash influences (cf. Progenitors of A New Paradigm) and unashamed grooves (cf. Scriptures in Scarlet and its verse are worthy of Napalm Death’s Harmony Corruption). This eighth album revisits all known tempos in the style and presents a collection of fantastic riffs. “Death Metal for dummies” you might call it. There’s little chance that this will be enough to transform Scriptures into a blockbuster and Benediction into a ‘bankable’ band, but it is doubtless enough to insure you spend the 46:50 runtime tapping your foot and nodding your head while smiling in satisfaction. It’s an enormous record. What’s more, if this album is enough to finally convince everyone that Benediction is much more than simply the “Napalm Death’s singer Barney Greenway’s first group”, a cumbersome act that he ditched in 1990, then it is certainly a service to everyone. © Charlélie Arnaud/Qobuz