Death Breath - "Let It Stink"

Death Breath - Lycanthropy (Relapse 2007)

Death Breath - Let It Stink / Relapse

The argument for metal not just being a bunch of noise has always been how difficult of a genre it is to perform. Faster bands have always been at the forefront of trying to make their light-speed riffing and drumming clearly heard, and the advancements in technology over the past decade to 15 years created a strong trend in metal which saw bands gravitating towards crystal-clear production to the point of being completely devoid of personality. While nerds like myself could headphone it up and hear each stroke of the guitar or snare hit with amazing ease, a good amount of these albums all ended up sounding the same, despite differences in style, region, or personnel. Honestly, a lot of the fun was taken out of the genre; bands sounded more like Kraftwerk's robot alter-egos than human beings.

Maybe it's the fact that the most classic metal albums were created before programs like Pro-Tools or drum triggers existed, or maybe it's just the fact that history repeats itself, but the last few years have seen a backlash against the mechanized, robot-metal that has dominated for quite a while. Enter Sweden's Death Breath, a project from the versatile Nicke Andersson (Entombed, the Hellacopters).

Let It Stink is Death Breath's third release in two years (a self-titled EP and the Stinking Up the Night full-length were both issued in 2006), an like its predecessors, loves hanging out in the grime and filth of raw production and sloppy, fun performances. It's obvious from the get-go that Death Breath isn't a completely serious band. First, there's the name. Next, there's the Beatles-parody artwork (Macabre did it better on Sinister Slaughter, though), then there's the first song, "Giving Head to the Dead." All of this is enough to make someone who already dismisses metal as a bullshit genre laugh this release off, and that's fine . . . we don't want you around anyway.

Death Breath manages to perfectly straddle the line that metal permanently resides on: joking around vs. taking things seriously. There's an ingrained humor in metal that's been there since day one (Venom and Slayer were just trying to make a buck, people) and will always be there. If you're really trying to make it as a metal band, the best method is just to ignore the humor aspect and do your thing, but it's clear that Death Breath aren't trying to make a living off this.

Let It Stink features old-school death-metal legend Scott Carlson (of Repulsion fame) on a few tracks, which makes sense considering the debt Death Breath owes to him and his old band. There's the basic one-two, slow-grind drumbeat, the minimal-chords-punk-style riffing, and the echo-y, shouted vocals. Death Breath also embraces the California-style mid-tempo thrash ("Lycanthropy") that is custom made for circle pits and sweaty dudes with their flannels tied around their waists.

There's also minimal guitar soloing on this EP, but when it happens, it's loud, screechy, and like the rest of the music, not too fancy . . . yet another throwback to the '80s-style Death Breath is paying respects to. The last song on Let It Stink, though, is a mid-paced romp that settles into the slowest groove of the EP around the two-minute mark and boasts a monumental solo which also serves as the focus of the disc's fading moments.

Be sure to check out the black and white video on this EP for their eponymous song from Stinking Up the Night. It involves a zombie, a chase through a graveyard, and actual death breath. There's also a colorized version that serves as a mini horror flick instead of a music video, in case you hate that particular song, I suppose.

With work already beginning on their next album, let's just hope that the nostalgia trip doesn't get old, and that Death Breath are going to continue writing quality, old-school death metal. I leave you with these words of wisdom from their website (remember, they're Swedes): "This is the record on which we are we going to use triggered drums and write lyrics about philosophical stuff . . . well, let’s hope we don’t do that."