Vintage death metal seemed to come rocketing back from the dead -- seemingly out of nowhere -- circa the early 21st century, as evidenced by such releases as the 2006 debut by
Death Breath,
Stinking Up the Night. Although singer Nicke Andersson has been spotted most recently doing the Motor City garage rock revival thang as the frontman for
the Hellacopters, you can't forget that he has unmistakable extreme metal roots, as a one-time member of both
Nihilist and
Entombed. And that's exactly where he pulls out his influences with
Death Breath. Frantic riffing, growls, and rapid-fire riffing abound here -- especially on such tracks as "Chopping Spree" and "Heading for Decapitation," while the beginning of "Coffins of the Unembalmed Dead" (how about that for a title?) is vintage
Sabbath. Also stopping by this death metal fiesta are such party guests as Jörgen Knot Sandström of
Grave and Scott Carlson of
Repulsion.
Stinking Up the Night could be mistaken for an '80s-era extreme metal album, and that was undoubtedly Andersson's goal. ~ Greg Prato