Deathrite – Delirium (Review)

It was about time. In 2018, Deathrite presented their Century Media debut Nightmares Reign and after that there was a long pause until they returned with their latest offering Delirium. Deathrite is a 5-member Death Metal outfit from Leipzig that started off with harsh Deathgrind tones, progressed in the direction of rather Old School Death Metal and now turned their heads towards a different sphere. Since their last release Nightmares Reign, there have been some line-up changes with two new members as well. Forging new has never been difficult for these guys, though, and on Delirium, they once more show that they are still capable of rearranging their inspirations.

When the title track kicks off, the opening guitar sound initially reminds of Nightmares Reign and instantly points out the fact that the sound of this album is still going to be present on what is to follow. Shortly thereafter, the sound shifts and a riff kicks off with a strong Black ‘n’ Roll tendency that leads into a track with vocalist Tony exhaling the exact Ugh! you need for this release to kick off. Within the first few seconds, it is unmistakenly made clear what is going to follow on Delirium.

We are right in the middle of a sound that can best be outlined as 1st Wave Black Metal, since this is the very sound that is capable of carrying all the different traits that find presence on the following tracks. There is still enough Death and Black Metal for all the fans of the former releases yet the entire sound is slightly shifted towards something that could find an explanation with a massive tribute to the original sound of Extreme Metal through the lense of Darkthrone. I mean – have you ever been disappointed by a release that kicks off with an Ugh? Didn’t think so either.

The first track “Delirium” is full of heavily rolling Black Metal riffs while the vocals move somewhere between Black, Death and even Hardcore variations. The Black Metal tone remains in the forefront, though, which is why it might be argued that Deathrite slightly switch the main focus to a different genre. This seems to be quite fitting, though. The guitars are the major aspect especially marking the line to distinguish from their previous release. It feels as if the guitars do not feel any urge to stick to specific genres, jumping back and forth between riffs that remind of 1st Wave Black Metal, early 2nd Wave Black Metal, Scandinavian Death Metal, some nuances of Heavy Metal riffing and everything in between. Especially those 1st Wave Black Metal riffs are heavily loaded with a huge amount of Punk that comes along with chunky riffs merging with all of the other genres whenever possible.

When regarding the sound of the guitars, the vocals take a strong focus remininscent of Darkthrone during their F.O.A.D. / Circle the Wagons phase which is absolutely convincing. Although the reminiscence is strong, Deathrite still manage to keep their personal sound with the heavily rolling sound of the tracks. On “Someone to Bleed With” though, I feel as if the lines “So Pure – So Cold” could be quite of an allusion at a band that served as an inspiration. Vocalist Tony manages the full scope from harsh and guttural vocals as already known from previous releases as well as the range in between clean vocals, shouts and the aforementioned style. The peak can be found on “Vortex” that carries the most blatant Black Metal tone and also slightly distorted vocals that match perfectly for your personal amount of frost on Delirium.

The discography of Deathrite still find presence on this release as well, though, since the drums uphold the strong connection between Metal and Punk with an oscillation between classy Punk patterns, D-Beat and some proto Extreme Metal styles. This is also what adds a lot of the dirty sound.

Next to the drums, the production obviously takes a big role again as already on Nightmares Reign. The raw production and sound conveys the filth and dirt on this release, serving with the connector for all of the sounds that can be found on the seven tracks of this EP. On the sixth track “Vicious Nights” the sound also finds a noisey and slightly industrial tone. The track opens up with a pulsating drum that marks its center and distorted vocals follow on top. If we are on a trip in delirium on this EP, this probably marks the culmination of whatever state of mind we are experiencing.

These (sadly) few tracks convinced me in their entirety. What a fucking filthy release to follow after Nightmares Reign. I really hope that there will be a full-length following that’s gonna find a similar sound as this EP since it seems as if Deathrite are playing in their exact spot again.

Next to a black variant, the EP is available in two different colors. The yellow one is available via the shop of the band and the purple one at the label Into Endless Chaos Records. In case you’re wondering, originally there was a blue pressing planned via the label yet due to difficulties this turned out as purble – still looks damn good.