ALBUM REVIEW: Deeds Of Ruthless Violence – Deranged

Swedish death metal has almost become a sub-genre in itself. Key bands in the genre like DISMEMBER, ENTOMBED and GRAVE all shared a unique sound that was quintessentially Swedish, and led to the inspiration of thousands of European, HM-2 worshipping death metal outfits. Then there’s DERANGED. Never quite reaching the same level as their peers, DERANGED took very little part in the buzz-saw stylings of the Stockholm scene, instead taking influence the hyper brutal, Americanised works of CANNIBAL CORPSE and MALEVOLENT CREATION to establish a brutal, brilliant back catalogue. DERANGED are now back, however, with their tenth record – Deeds of Ruthless Violence – but how does it compare to their classic records?

The new DERANGED album doesn’t mess about. Corpsegrinder-levels of sheer vocal brutality rattle the brain within milliseconds of Necro-Bulimia Interfering Afterlife, and we don’t get a single second to breathe for the next ten minutes as Engulfed by Hate I Stab to Kill and Levels of Lividity pound away unflinchingly.

It isn’t like Carnal Provisions for the Rotten Masses is any less brutal, but the long intro and slightly less furious tempo at least allow for a deep inhale before brand new lead vocalist Johan Bergstrom grunts his way back into action. As a death metal band, DERANGED, now on their eleventh release in a twenty-nine-year career, are doing the right thing: creating heavy music. The one thing that doesn’t quite land on this release is the texture. It constantly feels like an extra guitar should be filling out the mid-range. Rather than constantly having a thumping bass shaking the floor and lead guitars shrieking around like dog whistles, there needs to be some balance.

Looking past that, however, and this album is strangely hard to fault. Hints of early CARCASS are flitted about, and the undeniable essence of CANNIBAL CORPSE is near-impossible to ignore, but DERANGED still have a USP. The gritty assault on the senses is present, but they manage to seamlessly incorporate an impressive display of technicality with a funk feel that rears its head every now and again. The opening of Through Stages of Putrefaction will give you your fix of technical showmanship, while the middle section of I Send You Half yhe Kidney I Took demonstrates that late on the beat funk feel.

The title Quarantine Required for Living Entities might hit a little too close to home at the moment, but you can’t deny its grandeur; the dissonant chords could soundtrack the apocalypse itself. Obviously, DERANGED never reached the lofty heights of their contemporaries, but standout tracks like this one prove that this was the fault circumstance, not songwriting.

Their song titles might seem like a half-hearted attempt to reach the levels of old CANNIBAL CORPSE, but their excellent decision to keep the album at a short-but-sweet eight tracks of pounding aggression has turned Deeds of Ruthless Violence into one of the underground metal releases of the year.

Rating: 8/10

Deeds of Ruthless Violence is out now via Agonia Records. 

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