Album Review: 200 Stab Wounds - Slave To The Scalpel
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Hey kids do you like death metal?
Do you like filthy & ungodly guitar tones?
Do you like drums that will shake the world to its molten core?
If your answers are yes to the above, 200 Stab Wounds have you covered. 2021 See’s the band release of their full length debut Slave to the Scalpel. The record coming out via Maggot Stomp delivers a series of crushing death metal blows, coming one after the other, making it the most powerful thing to come out of Cleveland Ohio, since the batting order of Cleveland Indians teams of the mid to late 90’s.
Slave to the Scalpel does not come at you with over the top flash, it doesn’t try and give you a clean overly produced robotic sound, it is a collection of 9 short but thoroughly vicious tracks coming straight at you with a real honest direction. The sound that 200 Stab Wounds deliver is very reminiscent of a lot of classic brutal death metal from the early to mid 90’s think Internal Bleeding and pre Relapse Dying Fetus records and you will get a feel for what 200 Stab Wounds bring to the table with Slave to the Scalpel, they also sprinkle a bit of a hardcore styling within some of the songs at points which both the above mentioned bands especially Fetus were never shy of including themselves on their releases.
The riffs on Slave to the Scalpel are packed full of groove, the tone as mentioned above is downright evil which really builds the character of these songs, that character is an ugly & raw listening experience that just pounds and pounds riff after riff. On top of those groove riffs 200 Stab Wounds include some furious blast sections and when you think they are done with you they unleash some devastating slam riffs to add that final nail into the coffin. The records drumming adds an extra layer of dominance bringing that extra pulverizing layer to the songs overall presence and will assist these tracks in causing some chaotic pits during the bands live shows without question.
With Slave to the Scalpel, 200 Stab Wounds have paid homage to legends of the death metal scene whilst simultaneously continuing the next chapter of the genre. I love the variety and progression that death metal keeps showing by pushing the boundaries and taking song writing, skill, and speed to the next level. However, having a band like 200 Stab Wounds delivering and executing that classic sound is equally as important so the genre does not forget its roots, and deviate from what made it great.
