Altered Dead – Returned to Life (Recommendation)

The fact that Chris from Fucking Kill Records has a good taste and at the same time a real talent for decent Death Metal releases is something that he has proven for years. The latest band in the roster that caught my attention is the Canadian duo Altered Dead whose new album Returned To Life will be released in February. The guys have taken 5 years to present us their new full length, which they seem to have used extensively. With this record you can look forward to a crusty driven offshoot of the genre, beaten in somewhere between the old Swedish days and well known American bands of the 90’s. This release delivers ten merciless fist bumps that you can’t get enough from regarding its high instrumental quality.

However, it must be said directly that Altered Dead do not reinvent Death Metal in their songs, but also do not want to, the sound is a decent pound. Worth mentioning is especially the varied guitar playing, which the Canadians extend from sawing riffing to deep distorted rolling parts, to nasty crusty elements leaving no dry eye. In addition, the band’s bass playing is in the foreground and is meanwhile not only distinctive but also catchy. This makes the sound a lot dirtier when compared to what usually is the case in the genre, where this instrument often disappears in the background and unfortunately falls off. However, with wicked vocals, somewhere between guttural barfs and raspy roars that sound like an angry rat on meth, Returned To Life manages to fulfill the disgust level with its tracks. The massive drums then adequately round the whole thing off and besides fast, hard blasts, especially strong snare parts come out, which can take hold and cause some furor. Their penchant for Punk seen by the duo is again on top with their last song, a Celtic Frost cover of ‘Into The Crypts Of Rays’ again more clearly and closes the long player more than befitting.

Official release date for this work of power is January 15, when you can get the CD version via Memento Mori. On the 28th February, the vinyl format is also added, which is available in two different versions via Fucking Kill Records.
With Returned to Life, Altered Dead delivers a really strong Death Metal album, which brings just the right pinch of Crust. This slightly Punk vibe next to all the blasting and rotten guitar sawing suits extremely well to the brutal Metal sound that is given here. Especially lovers of HM2 riffing and intense drumming will get their money’s worth with this record. So if you want to get the soundtrack of old horror movies that are interrupted and dissected by some nasty chainsaws, you should not miss this long player at any price, that’s for sure!

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