Mr Death - Detached From Life

November 5, 2009

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

I think it’s kind of interesting that while such a negatively charged racket has been made concerning all the bands currently reviving the thrash style popular in the eighties, the large number of bands dedicated to playing death metal in the style of the “old school” have received very little in the way of scrutiny.  Why would the young bands of one resurging style be so lambasted for their efforts while the bands of another, playing in the style of a basically concurrent period of time get a pass?  Strange indeed, and far from fair I’d say. 

The somewhat preposterously monikered Mr. Death, a Stockholm based death metal band featuring a couple of early Tiamat members, offer some more than respectful tribute to the early death metal bands of their home nation on their debut album Detached from Life.  Immediately upon hearing this, I said to my self “Self, this sure as hell sounds like it was recorded at Sunlight Studios”.  Sure enough, Detached from Life was indeed recorded at Sunlight, and produced by the venerable Thomas Skogsberg to boot.  Very few studios’ sound are so instantly recognizable, and so unbelievably fitting for death metal music, so it should pretty much go without saying that the production on Detached from Life is extremely heavy, with the trademark fuzzy thickness that so many Swedish death metal bands have benefitted from over the years. 

What’s intriguing about this band and album is that Mr. Death isn’t merely playing in the early Swedish death metal style.  For the most part, what they are playing is far more in line with what the old school Swedish bands are playing in the present.  It’s extremely easy to forget that you’re not listening to recent Grave or Dismember when hearing tracks like “A Dying God” or the alternately blasting and stomping “Evil Undisputed”.  This is a very solid death metal album, one that is sure please fans of the legendary Stockholm style and sound, as well as those who have never been able to forgive Entombed for their post-Clandestine follies. 

Release Date: October 31th, 2009
Label:  Agonia Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Suffer
2.  Fin
3.  A Dying God
4.  Evil Undisputed
5.  Muse of Chaos
6.  Combined Anatomy
7.  Misery's Womb
8.  Denied The Will To Live
9.  Death Vs. The Living Dead
10.  The Storm
11.  Black Blood

Total playing time: 31:31

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