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ALBUM REVIEW: Der Letzte Raum – Lifetaker

German grindcore outfit LIFETAKER have dragged themselves out of the gutter to spew forth more frenetic bile on their sophomore album Der Letzte Raum (which translates as ‘The last room’). Two years on from their debut full-length Night Intruder, and having slimmed down to a four-piece, this record presents 15 short and sharp outbursts of unbridled energy and violence that make sure not to hang around the scene of the crime.

Right from the offset, LIFETAKER opt for all out aural annihilation; Bunkerjugend (‘Bunker youth’) detonates in a frenzy of angular, venomous barbs that’s hard to steel yourself for. From a vocal standpoint alone, there is so much happening here, from staccato barks and anguished roars, to Jacob Bannon-esque, throat shredding cries and unhinged goblin screams. Under all of that too, there’s a smorgasbord of noise, from lightning quick rumbling drums to guitar lines that seamlessly switch from thudding punky debauchery to squealing grindcore barbarism. 

The one-two punch of Fleischwolf (‘meat grinder’) and Strafisolator (‘penal isolator’) is the first real knockout blow. Together, these two tracks total just two minutes and 48 seconds, but LIFETAKER have managed to pack in so many moments that will stop you dead in your tracks. From the deep fried roars that defy all human logic on Fleischwolf, to the machine gun fire delivery of the feedback drenched Strafisolator, these are jaw droppers. There’s a production quality too that is so blunt and brutal, particularly on the latter of these two tracks, that just elevates the viciousness of the whole thing; it’s as if the band are literally trying to throttle you through the speaker. 

The longest track on the album is a brisk 2:31, and all told, Der Letzte Raum doesn’t even last 25 minutes, but it’s such a gruelling, unyielding bombardment on the senses that you leave the experience battered, bruised and smiling. There’s a run of five tracks starting with Strafisolator in which none of the songs hit 90 seconds. It’s a period of five-and-a-half minutes that can cause whiplash with the speed at which the blows come hurtling toward the listener. Kadaverstille (‘carcass silence’) caps this run in a CONVERGE meets NAPALM DEATH meets PIG DESTROYER shotgun blast to really fry your nerves once and for all.

That’s not to say that LIFETAKER take it easy through the end of the album. Madenvolk (‘maggot people’) is a sub-60 second stick of dynamite; Vernichtungstanz (‘dance of destruction’) dabbles in noise metal and atmosphere to give Der Letzte Raum it’s most unnerving moment; and Tempelfaust (‘temple fist’) is a wholly unhinged slab of gnarled heft that swings wildly from death metal to powerviolence via black metal vocals and doom metal tempos.

Der Letzte Raum can perhaps best be described as death by a thousand cuts, but where every cut is imbued with the power of a nuclear warhead. Unrelenting, unfathomable and downright unruly, LIFETAKER have created one of the year’s most visceral and vital releases in extreme metal.

Rating: 9/10

Der Letzte Raum - Lifetaker

Der Letzte Raum is set for release on September 30th via Black Omega Recordings and Lower Class Kids Records.

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