Album Review: Slaughterday - Dread Emperor
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Slaughterday may just be amongst Germany’s most underrated extreme metal acts. The Lower Saxony band, having formed 2010, began and continues to be run by the same two guys: Jens Finger on guitar and bass; Bernd Reiners on vocals and drums. It was their 2013 Nightmare Vortex record that saw them break out of the mire, a break out only cemented by their follow-up 2016 release: Laws Of The Occult. In the following decade Slaughterday established a healthy rapport between themselves and fans for reliable and solid death metal that understands what it wants to be and how to achieve that sound. Whether via Splits, EPs or consecutive full lengths the band bring us now to their fifth studio album, Dread Emperor. This record finds Slaughterday for the first time with Testimony Records with a February 13th release date set. I was curious to see what the band had in store given I’ve missed a few recent releases yet confident my time was in capable hands.
Throwing us into the fire with an introductory track the way a soundbite prepares the audience for the band’s unveiling upon the stage, Slaughterday demonstrate their signature fusion of horror and bombastic flair. When the show begins it’s with fire and brimstone and those ever-familiar vocals jutting forth with the strength of stampeding oxen. Once the record begins longtime audiences will understand what they’re getting into and newcomers will surely find themselves happily at home with Slaughterday’s grounded assault, offering little in the way of peculiar songwriting or subversive riffs that challenge and sway us. Slaughterday’s career is built atop providing riffs and songwriting equally powerful and accessible; though one could argue Slaughterday should change up the formula, that very formula evidently works as I have myself utterly to their crushing grind.
What does stand out in this case nevertheless is the amazing clarity their instrumentation achieves. The band’s crushing, fist-clenching performance is on full display but never has the separation of instrumentation within the mix been so apparent, enabling audiences focus keenly on any aspect they desire, should it draw their attention. The guitar work, whilst summoning riffs not amiss from quarried granite walls, has been pushed just that extra inch forward to give their malice not only additional spotlight but greater fervency. Where their previous efforts often fuse instrumentation together via a coarser mix, the choice to tidy it has granted their riffs a greater potency. It’s a record that also gave its drums needed clarity too for strikes and cymbals are conveyed with perfect projection from kit to listener; you’ll be pleased understanding your ears won’t have to strain comprehending what specifically is playing in the moment.
This tweaking of the mix induces an additional knock on effect, being Slaughterday’s gentler impact upon the senses. The band have always provided exciting and compelling death metal that will have fans headbanging but Dread Emperor excels at providing said experience without you feeling the burden of carrying such an assault. As a result the band can unload whatever punishment their record lies in store for you and you won’t feel any more crushed than had they dialled their ferocity down tenfold. As you listen, and the band drive the hammer down, it makes for an especially smooth experience, where tapping solos, growling vocals each have their moment and each feels integral to the experience because the band have gifted their sound with featherweight finesse to allow it to strike so much harder.
Slaughterday’s music continues to strike at the heart of what fans want: death metal that bypasses all else that distract or veer away from the prime target, our face. Throughout this record the band have never been clearer on the point of straightforward songwriting; perhaps it’s due to the clearer mix, but Dread Emperor really showcases the importance of short tracks and simplified songwriting. As one begins, you don’t need to listen too closely to understand the gist of what Slaughterday are offering since their sound isn’t overtly demanding. It may strike your face numerous times over but we mustn’t think the band are holding us down. We are thoroughly free to move as we please yet present ourselves with the utmost consent for devastation; if that’s not a sign of Slaughterday’s appeal I fathom what is.
In conclusion, Dread Emperor is the latest in Slaughterday’s approach to death metal: why complicate what can be conveyed with ease? That’s the Slaughterday way. Extreme metal loves to convey complexity so when a band is entirely at home in producing music that is simple to experience and the takeaway is immense, it often results in a win-win for band and audience. This has been the case for years now but looking at how they’ve conducted themselves through songwriting and the mix, things might be changing in the Slaughterday camp as they hone in on establishing soundscapes where the experience is smooth as silk but punches with searing vitriol. As such they’ve altered the mix and how instrumentation is conveyed to us and, throughout Dread Emperor, its allowed drums and riffs and vocals to feel more realised than ever before. I think it’ll be interesting to watch Slaughterday here on out now, if only to discern whether this tactic undertaken with Dread Emperor becomes the norm going forward. A solid release.
