EP Review: Between The Killings - The Killing Quartet Vol. 1 - Reflection of Murder
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
Gorgasm, Mortal Decay, Lividity, these are just 3 of the bands who members of Between The Killings have been a part of over their musical endeavours. Now any self respecting death metal fan upon hearing that should be drooling like Homer Simpson around a batch of fresh doughnuts, and if you're not then you should be ashamed of yourself to be quite honest.
Between The Killings first release is a 6 track effort titled The Killing Quartet Vol. 1 - Reflection of Murder. A collection of tracks made up of pretty violent brutal death metal with a particularly classic feel to the songs which in all honesty isn’t surprising giving the band members past credentials within the scene. What you get with this EP is a quite diverse set of tracks across the run length all containing the key elements of the brutal death metal style but not following the same pattern.
Take a track like 'Contrivance' which offers a more technical approach to its songwriting which is sandwiched between 2 tracks which are very groove heavy, the one of these tracks 'From Interest To Obsession' is The Killing Quartet Vol. 1 - Reflection of Murder’s finest offering. Finishing the EP is “'The Violent Ending' which is an extremely fitting title as this song is packed full of razor sharp violet death metal riffs and vicious carnal aggression throughout.
When you get bands made up of numerous legendary bands there is always the possibility that it can’t live up to the hype. The Killing Quartet Vol. 1 - Reflection of Murder is exactly what I wanted it to be, and definitely is worthy of the hype due to its association. It’s by no means a groundbreaking original collection of songs but it’s a great example of how you can craft this style of death metal and keep a freshness to it.
