Album Review: Cadaver - D.G.A.F.
Reviewed by Jon Wigg
Norwegian Death Metal pioneers ‘Cadavar’ returned to the scene in 2019 with the excellent single ‘Circle of Morbidity’ which featured guest vocals from ‘Possessed’ legend Jeff Becerra. This was a glimpse into what original guitarist Anders Odden and current Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren promised for fans of the original. The single was classic death metal with some great groove sections and brutality that harked back to the first iteration.
‘D.G.A.F.’ provides a further look into the plans for Cadavar going forward. A 3 track E.P. clocking in at just over 10 minutes, the cover harks back to their original grind with body parts aplenty.
Carcass frontman Jeff Walker makes a guest appearance on the title track which starts with a slow paced opening through to the first growled chorus of 'Don’t Give a Fuck’. Then the pace and blast beat kicks in with a frenetic solo before the slower pace returns to close. A good track to start with some excellent death metal groove although to me it did feel a little contrived to shoehorn Walker into proceedings, rather than concentrating on Cadavar themselves. ‘Deformed Insanity’ feels more like old school Norwegian Death Metal – an intense grind through the DM repertoire with a much better mix and sound than the opener. This track show a lot of promise for the future promised full-length and is the highlight here. Final track ‘Disgrace’ adds in some doom to start before the up tempo blast returns and offers the best solos on the EP.
Overall I had mixed feelings about ‘D.G.A.F.’. The 2019 single showed so much promise and initially the title track did disappoint me a bit, feeling dialled in and more a showcase for Jeff Walker than the band. ‘Deformed Insanity’ changed that and is an excellent track and ‘Disgrace’ also shows some flashes that one of the originators of Norwegian Death Metal may be about to fully return with something special.
Hopefully ‘D.G.A.F.’ is Cadavar stretching out the sinews of their rotting hamstrings before smashing back with a full-length album in the not too distant future. In the meantime this is a good listen and reminds fans what they’ve been missing since the band last split in 2005.
