Album Review: Stillbirth - Survival Protocol
Reviewed by Sam Jones
There are various bands I’ve known of for years yet have never tested the waters; one such band of this category is Stillbirth. Hailing from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Stillbirth began in 1999 and sport a brutal death metal sound that stands, for the most part, unchanged since they released their first studio album in 2003, Happy Stillbirthday Party, evidently seeking to write extreme metal with a tongue-in-cheek, parodic appeal. Though they split a year later Stillbirth reformed come 2006 and over time their tone has shifted away from the parodic and irreverent to a more serious and brooding sonic assault, where records like 2015’s Global Error and 2018’s Annihilation Of Mankind sealed the change in their approach. The onset of the 2020s saw Stillbirth barely relent from the slew of material they’d been cooking up as 2020 saw Revive The Throne and, most recently, 2023 saw Homo Deus hit the waves. Just two years on Stillbirth are back for their ninth round of extreme metal, this time signed on to Reigning Phoenix Music, set for an October 31st release date. It’s time to dive into Stillbirth at last and discover what I’ve neglected to hear.
With an introductory piece that could perfectly synchronise with the coming down of the curtains, Stillbirth kick off their record with a bang for the energy they imbue their sound with is colossal. This is only amplified with the employment of drums that enter the fray with murderous intent, bolstering the record’s bass tenfold. However, whilst the band’s intensity is quickly brought to the apex to get newcomers like myself on board, its not the entirety of what Stillbirth are about. The opening track “Existence Erased” may wish to do just that but it also features a brief acoustic section that wonderfully breaks up the power coming down upon us, throw in the solo rooted in neoclassical elements and you’ve got a track that hardly sits still for a moment yet never veers far from Stillbirth’s planned end goal. I’m personally happy with how Stillbirth’s songwriting feels as I can be on the fence with Brutal Death Metal, yet these guys clearly understand the importance of flow and structure within extreme metal for their sound isn’t solely comprised of brutality and beatdowns.
Considering frontman Lukas Swaiczny is the sole remaining original member of the band and is also behind the record’s mixing, he’s performed excellently vocally but has also made sure the whole band can be heard and appreciated for all else they provide. One expects to hear crushing vocals on such a record and Swaiczny delivers them in droves, but I loved the variety his vocals delivered for though his primary performance is bellowing while sometimes dipping into more demonic depths, he also offers pig squeals and more hideous examples of vocals that really detail the care and control he commands over his voice. Maintaining vocals like these after twenty-five years is no minor feat especially considering the extremity his vocals aspire for. But Swaiczny is also behind the mix, so he has full rein over how Stillbirth come across to us; while the vocals are exemplary, incredible detail has been shown to everything else for the band’s instrumentation is not only wondrously coherent but exhibits a remarkable interchangeability where the performance can continuously cut between riffs to drums and back again without Stillbirth losing us for a second. As we’ll explore, their songwriting is just as technically intricate as their riffs.
What's taken me most aback is how intricate and technical Stillbirth’s riffs are. This wasn’t what I was anticipating out of a work of brutal death metal; I admit I was expecting slabs of riffs that fall with the fullest of density, yet I much prefer Stillbirth’s technical, methodical approach to songwriting. Even as Stillbirth bring the most crushing phases of a track down on you, the riff in question will always throw in a lick or harmonic that sets is aside from the myriad creations of rudimentary death metal. What may immediately sound par for the course will rapidly shake up, quickly altering your expectations for Survival Protocol. Its worth noting these guys effectively never slow down but that never impairs the riffs from developing into what they need to be within the context of the track playing; they can be faster, heavier, cerebral, pending on how a track is approached. There is so much going on at any one time yet you’ll never feel overwhelmed for the riffs performed ooze a generality whereby the changing directions and cadence they take never stems so far away from the original path. Its because of this they possess enough freedom traversing untrodden paths because the audience knows they’re never far from the main signposted route.
Stillbirth throw a lot at you, I know that even after my first exposure to them. However its amazing how much I was able to digest in the moment as they only continued to throw their plethora of songs at me. I was towards the record’s end and could comfortably recall all previous qualities Survival Protocol delivered; in spite of the differing riff styles, the inclusion of numerous vocal extremities, the brutality thus injected by incessant drums whose bass could spell death sentences for weaker speakers, Stillbirth never fly off. They never take the dreaded leap off the floor and soar into the sky beyond, their sound always feels grounded and on a plain we as listeners can practically touch. This is additionally impressive when we remember how technically intricate their riffs are. I can imagine guitarists really scratching their heads at mimicking their guitar work as its simultaneously fast as light and technical as mathematical formulae, so trying to emulate this sound would be extremely difficult. Whatever point you find yourself at Stillbirth will send you into a world of whiplash and stank face as their soundscape conjures all things grievously unrepentant.
In conclusion, prior to checking this record out I had my reservations towards Stillbirth. I was unsure how I'd feel about this record but I'm ecstatic to confirm Survival Protocol has in fact converted me wholly to Stillbirth’s music. I’d replicate this sentiment to those also unsure whether to try their sound as Survival Protocol is the kind of record that opens your eyes stark wide, encouraging you to check out their back catalogue for, if this is the quality Stillbirth offer, what other treasures do their previous releases store? I came away from this record deeply impressed for Stillbirth shatter the oft displeasing stereotype brutal death metal is often inured with: simplistic, lacking quality, one-note. This is not that record, this is an excellent experience and with a short runtime Stillbirth convey quality songwriting the years have given competence towards. Though half the band’s roster only came on board recently, their chemistry and prowess shines delivering an album they should be proud of creating. Survival Protocol is an ideal record to put on this Halloween, offering one killing after another for the band won’t be satisfied until there’s nought but paste left where once you stood.
