ALBUM REVIEW: Death, Madness, Horror, Decay – The Lurking Fear
Death metal fans were excited – and rightly so – when it was announced several legends of the scene had come together to create their own missive that threw back to the old school death metal of yore, replete with an (un)healthy dose of Lovecraftian horror. The cosmic beast formed from this meeting of minds is THE LURKING FEAR, and where their debut was a platter of shifting, malevolent dread, its follow-up, Death, Madness, Horror, Decay, ups the ante on it in every way. Three of the members already play in the much-revered AT THE GATES, including vocalist Tomas Lindberg, but this doesn’t sound like them at all. Gone is the melodic death metal and in its place is sheer skull-rattling death metal that drags listeners to the edge of the cosmic abyss and hurls them in.
Dealing primarily in the kind of primordial, spine-tearing violence that’s better in short bursts, songs rarely venture much above the three-minute mark, and it’s to the album’s benefit as a whole. Opener Abyssal Slime and Death Reborn are short stabs of brutal old school death metal, while Kaleidoscopic Mutations (with bonus guest appearance from AUTOPSY’s Chris Reifert) is equally short but twice as weird, the guest vocals adding an extra layer of twisted, demented horror. That’s not to say the entire album is death metal so abrupt it’s practically grindcore; the band also know how to really lay into a groove, with songs that twist and turn like the leviathans of the deep. The title track, along with Leech Of The Aeons, both slow down to deliver grinding, malevolent assaults that really delve deep into the unsettling, crawling horror of the cosmos.
The issue that always rears its head with the wave of OSDM bands seen over the past few years is whether they can truly resurrect the past with enough of a modern slant, or at least do something more interesting with it. Having been there the first time around in other bands, there should be no doubt that this is one of the few fears that isn’t lurking here. Grisly guitar work, frenetic drums and Lindberg’s instantly-recognisable bark in parts does mean it skirts a little close to AT THE GATES territory, but with that band having gone off into more progressive territories of late, THE LURKING FEAR are all too happy to shine a light on the murky terrors of death metal. They haven’t stayed stagnant here either though; lyrically they expand from purely Lovecraftian to those who were influenced by his writings, like American writer Thomas Ligotti, skirting ever closer to the edges of the cosmic void.
Where their debut Out Of The Voiceless Grave occasionally felt disjointed from each member bringing in several songs, Death, Madness, Horror, Decay is much more of a collaborative effort and is all the stronger for it. There’s a clearer sense of identity and thematic cohesion throughout the record even as it branches out from just Lovecraft to encompass all manner of cosmic terror. It’s perhaps no surprise given the pedigree of its members, but it’s a must-listen for all fans of old school death as well as those who enjoy the disquieting sense that there is something greater than us, and it’s terrifying.
Rating: 8/10
Death, Madness, Horror, Decay is set for release on November 19th via Century Media Records.
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