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SEVERE TORTURE– “Torn from the Jaws of Death”
SEVERE TORTURE– “Torn from the Jaws of Death”
by Thor
SEVERE TORTURE—death metal’s gang of neanderthals from the Netherlands—is back with their first LP since wooly mammoths roamed the icy barrens. Okay, it hasn’t been THAT long, but 14 years is an eternity in pop culture, especially underground, niche pop culture, so forgive me if I’m feeling a bit like a paleontologist in a battle vest as I check out “Torn from the Jaws of Death”.
To be fair, SEVERE TORTURE did fire a warning shot two years ago when they dropped a three-song EP titled “Fisting the Sockets” that I reviewed here, and, at the time, it seemed like an obvious preview of the full-length assault I currently have piping directly into my brain.
During the brutal death metal explosion of the aughts—typified then by the brutal tech-death bands of the U.S. West Coast like DEEDS OF FLESH and DECREPIT BIRTH, as well as labels like Unique Leader—SEVERE TORTURE was the one European band at the time that could slide seamlessly into that musical miasma. And they did so, having released five LPs in addition to various splits, comps, and EPs of ogre-like heaviness over the course of that decade before essentially disappearing in the 2010s.
With “Torn from the Jaws of Death” marking the band’s full return to the scene, what should you expect? Well, with songs including “Hogtied in Rope”, “Putrid Remains”, and “Tear all the Flesh off the Earth”, you’d be forgiven for expecting more of the same muscular musical beatdown. However, that’s not quite what we have here.
This iteration of SEVERE TORTURE still plays death metal with guttural vocals, palm muted pummeling, and blast beats galore, however the overall approach is a noticeably less visceral one in favor of more melody and refinement. The result lends their new opus some old school death metal vibes and even leans into overt black metal stylings during a couple passages. Is it a sign of veteran musicians getting older? Expanding their pallets? Probably. Is it good? Yes. Unequivocally. Do I like it as much as their marauding caveman approach from the days of yore? Well…
The band’s new stylistic flourishes aside, the sonics of “Torn from the Jaws of Death” are top notch. The mix is meaty and articulate, with an abundance of organic punchiness. The bass guitar in particular provides a sub-foundation that rattles the teeth without muddying up the million-note cacophony above it, not to mention Patrick Boleij’s fantastic playing.
SEVERE TORTURE’s “Torn from the Jaws of Death” is a successful return to the metal underground for a band that’s long been missed. Whether the band occasionally now drinks from champaign flutes with their pinkies up matters not when they’re still bashing in your skull with the other hand.
Go get SEVERE TORTURE’s “Torn from the Jaws of Death”, now available from Season of Mist.
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