ALBUM REVIEW: Killing for Pleasure Forever – Death Scythe
If you’re looking for a band that all but encompasses the genre of melodic death metal, then look no further than Mexican quintet DEATH SCYTHE. After working hard to continue to play music and write new songs through the pandemic, DEATH SCYTHE presents their latest self-released album, Killing For Pleasure Forever. Having taken a 10-year hiatus just a few years into their career, the band came back with a bang in 2020, and this latest release is a re-record of their 2009 album Killing For Pleasure. Offering a new perspective on their old sound, this album is filled with killer riffs, groovy beats, and powerful vocals, which is exactly what this genre is all about.
The album kicks off with Genesis Of End, a no-frills instrumental intro in a classic melodic style. As one of the shorter tracks at just 2:49, this is a nice introduction into the band’s general vibe before diving headfirst into Hollow Darkness. This track introduces us to the intense vocals of frontman Gerardo Mendoza and really demonstrates the crazy guitar skills of Roberto Cevera throughout.
Next up is The Edge Of Oblivion, a hard-hitting track which feels thrashier than the others and more traditional of death metal. The breakdown and change of beat towards the second half of the song showcases the band’s technical diversity well. Killer Faith offers a strong opening riff and epic backing solo, whilst the vocals and central rhythm are reminiscent of LAMB OF GOD‘s Redneck. The next two tracks, Touched By A Scythe and Reborn To Kill increase the pace a bit and ramp up the energy nicely, with the former featuring suitably metal lyrics like “see my need, need for blood”. They give you the chance to really “feel the scythe” before the next track Drama slows things right down with another instrumental, this time much more mellow. It features the sound of a flute throughout, which is a unique and pleasant touch to an otherwise heavy album.
The whole album feels set in two halves, with the second half coming across as more emotional as opposed to the pure aggression of the first. Wind brings us back into the heavy swing of DEATH SCYTHE, albeit at a slightly slower pace, whilst Lost In Eternity has a more Viking metal feel to it compared to the rest of the songs. Buried Alive begins to round up the album and is followed by The Fall Of The Empire, which has some good riffs and breakdowns, but overall is probably the messiest song on the album as it seems to jump around with changes of pace and beat.
Black Gate, the penultimate song on the album, can only be described as sounding exactly as a penultimate song should. In contrast to the previous track, this one is probably the most impressive and diverse on the album and brings a final burst of energy to lead us into the grand finale of The Death Scythe. As the longest song on the 13-track album, clocking in at 6:20, it is quite grandiose with an interesting and downright impressive solo in the middle.
Killing For Pleasure Forever is an album with is enjoyable to listen to and overall, it is quite impressive. Some songs are little messy and rough around the edges, and they can sound a little similar to each other in places. There are definite similarities in their style to fellow melodic death metallers AVATAR, however, the band have nonetheless managed to create a distinctive sound you could pick out over others. By re-recording previous material with fresh sets of eyes and ears, and more experience to boot, it certainly seems like DEATH SCYTHE have created an album which could start to put them on the map.
Rating: 8/10
Killing For Pleasure Forever is set for release on August 26th via self-release.
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