EP Review: Dead Sleep – Repulsion
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
Like the bastard child of classic thrash and extreme metal, Sweden’s Dead Sleep emerge with an EP that is raw, aggressive and full of punk energy. The trio refuses to stick to any rules, and these 5 songs see the band with a sharper, heavier sound that’s coming directly for you.
Vocalist and bassist Anna Wagner says that “the songs revolve around themes of power, motherhood and society’s long-standing fear of women who step outside imposed rules” and they waste little time getting up to speed on fiery opener “Repulsion”. With drummer Per Olofsson hitting the crap out of those skins, guitarist Marcus Bader plays some scintillating riffs, before the phlegm sounding vocals appear. The interplay around the 3-minute mark makes for joyous listening with a gritty bass line to boot.
A glorious guitar tone comes flying out for the start of “Hell Hath No Fury” and continues to pummel your senses furthermore. It’s a short, punk fuelled blast of rage filled with raucous drum rolls accompanied by darker, venomous lyrics, and then without pausing for breath, they blast your eardrums again with “Children of the Blade”. With lyrics inspired by the biblical myth of King Soloman and the two mothers fighting over a baby, the lead solo has me smiling before they settle into a steady but awesome rhythm that will get heads banging all over the place. It’s not complicated, but it’s focused where it needs to be and more refined to deliver maximum effect.
With drums and guitars swapping positions at the start of “Leech from Cachtice, Wagner’s bass comes to install more evil into the song. They speed up about a minute into the song, and you get that sense of early Venom and black metal with controlled yet over the top solos that have a real presence. The rhythm throughout the song is a great listen and works so well, before we arrive at the final blast, “Bring Me The Head” that has a mighty scream and a chuggy thrash riff that is impressive. Their relentless pace is ramped up further with more blistering guitars and devastating drums as their stripped down and unpolished music is unapologetically brutal.
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