ALBUM REVIEW: From The Sulphur Depths – Helslave

Look, it’s no big secret that old school death metal is in vogue at the moment. There’s a million and one bands inspired by the greats who’ve now decided to pick up instruments and pay homage to them (usually mainly to the undisputed kings, BOLT THROWER). What this means, naturally, is that about 90% of them are not only unoriginal but derivative. While often fine and serviceable enough, there’s just not enough in the way of pushing the envelope, either by folding other elements in or simply by playing it so damned well it’s impossible not to enjoy. 

To be candid, HELSLAVE sit in the 10% of bands that are doing something worthwhile with their HM-2 pedals. It’s no-frills, no-nonsense, meat and potatoes OSDM but with a sense of personality underneath the filth and a command of riffing that makes their sophomore effort From The Sulphur Depths worth your time. Active since 2009, they’ve been peddling their wares from their beginnings as a more melodic death metal band across a debut and a smattering of EPs, before honing their sound and taking it in a more aggressive direction. 

This second album is the culmination of that push into harder, faster territories. Opening with the short title track that sets the scene with its eerie effects reminiscent of tension-building moments in horror movies, we’re soon catapulted from here straight into the fires of Hel with Unholy Graves. Caustic roars, rapid-fire drumming and frenetic guitar work are the order of the day and they’re delivered with diabolic fury with a ripping solo around the halfway mark before descending back into chaos. 

Not content to merely bludgeon at breakneck pace, HELSLAVE also show an affinity with the stompier end of the spectrum. Cuts like Last Nail In The Coffin, which opens with the creak of a coffin before settling into a rollicking groove that’s every bit as furious as the faster numbers. Similarly, Funereal Lust opens with squealing harmonics before double bass drums and churning riffs at a mid-paced stomp enter seemingly with the sole intention of cracking skulls. 

Vocalist Diego Laine is like a man possessed, with a cavernous growl straight from the sulphuric depths themselves; there’s plenty of bite to the bark and he turns in a storming performance across the album. The guitars are able to turn on a dime, the duo of Jari Sgarlato and Marco Benedetti firing off a constant barrage of riffs that both bludgeon and cut deep with their buzzsaw tone. The rhythm section of Luca Riccardelli and Francesco Comerci (bass and drums respectively) are nothing to be sniffed at either, anchoring the band with their aural assault, maintaining a precise battering even in the fastest moments. 

The production is as expected for a revivalist OSDM release; there’s a thick coating of filth without detracting from the instruments or vocals themselves. Each part remains clearly audible but the grime is omnipresent, dragging listeners into the murky depths of HELSLAVE’s aural violence. 

Again, there’s nothing truly original about From The Sulphur Depths – or HELSLAVE themselves – but in a revivalist movement like OSDM, that’s not really the point. While they aren’t pushing boundaries or delivering sounds we’ve never heard before, what they are doing is delivering forty minutes of bludgeoning, battering death metal with more rage and raw aggression than a coked-up gorilla with some seriously nasty riffs. And sometimes, that’s all that’s needed. 

Rating: 7/10

From The Sulphur Depths is out now via Pulverised Records.

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