E.P. Review: Stillbirth - Strain of Gods
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Before we get into the review, on 2nd November, the death metal community was saddened to learn that Stillbirth bass player Dominik “Pumpa” König passed away. The response from people all over the world proved what a genuine positive effect Pumpa had on people he knew, and he will be greatly missed by the community. For any U.K. people there has been a memorial show announced to celebrate his life and to raise money for his family which is happening on 17th December in Liverpool featuring Colpocleisis, Exhumation, Horse Bastard & Dad. There are also plans for this event to be live-streamed.
Having released a record in 2018, 2019 & 2020 along with playing in every corner of the world, you would have forgiven a 20-year deep veteran like Stillbirth to take some time to rest and relax during the past few months. But in true Stillbirth fashion they said no to that and went about business as usual to craft a new release Strain of Gods coming via Unique Leader.
The E.P. picks off from where the bands 2020 releases Revive the Throne finished, the gladiators are coming back from battle seeking much needed rest and relaxation to heal their wounds. Now Stillbirth deliver my kind of rest and relaxation, Strain of Gods is a collection of tracks showcasing Stillbirth doing what they do so well, providing utter mayhem.
The E.P.’s furious combination of death grind which melts into ground shattering slamming death metal can be heard throughout. Tracks like “Skinned by The Sun” lean heavily on that grind song structure whilst adding those classic grooves which will have crowds causing fury in no time. If you want more slam heavy tracks then you will get those too within the release such as “Surfers Paradise” or “Double Fire, Double Fun” they will give you your slam fix, but they also transition other elements such as some anthemic arrangements and even some ever so slight melody, so you are not just getting a dull monotonous track. Each track on Strain of Gods is finished with a rapid fire continuous vocal assault. As with its predecessor it features a dual bass playing attack, to compliment the unstoppable drum and guitar assault which is featured throughout.
Stillbirth deliver another dose of high energy death metal, they match the energy they bring onto the stage with this brutal display of power. They continue to prove why they are an absolute unit of a band within the scene and add another top release to the bands extensive catalogue.
