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In 2009, it seems the best way to make innovative death
metal is to not employ slams. After the dozens of avenues the
genre has gone down – melodic, brutal, blackened, thrashy,
numerous combinations of those, and so on – old is new
again, and after a few years of interchangeable breakdown-
prone ‘core enthusiasts, death metal’s scraggly faithful are
more interested in hearing the genre done well as opposed
to yet another “What if we combined THIS with death metal?!”
band. Of course, revisiting can lead to rehashing incredibly
easily (see: thrash revival), and the best of those invested in
the past know that there’s a certain energy that needs to be
pumped into it in order to give it purpose. Smite the
Righteous, a melodic death/thrash collective from
Massachusetts, waver on the revisit-rehash line, stumbling
onto either side throughout the course of their debut full
length The Thirst for Violence. But in its best moments it
displays a looseness and a vested interest sorely missing
from death metal’s crop of regurgitaters. Though still rough
around the edges, the band seem to get it a lot more than
some.
The Thirst for Violence’s greatest strength is the band’s
relationship with each other. In an environment where
chemistry between players is usually provided artificially in
post-production, Smite the Righteous sound like a band
working off of one another, comfortable with the eccentricities
of their bandmates. They’re also familiar with their influences
without directly ripping them off. The Death-isms on “The
Bitter Taste of Dissent” and “Built on the Ashes of Ancients”
recall Death, but breathe and operate on their own terms. And
the spidery thrash riff that acts as the backbone of “Fair
Weather No More” manages to gets one blood pumping after
a decade of At the Gates-aping metalcore. Even the very few
breakdowns that rear their well-flogged heads don’t feel
shoehorned in, but instead the product of a band that isn’t
afraid of groove (as is evident by the band’s MVP, drummer
Chris Helme).
Their problem, though – aside from occasionally cringe-
worthy vocals and production that’s more murky than raw – is
that they occasionally veer into territory still too well trod to be
able to find new ground. The minor key melodic death metal
arpeggios on “Those Beautiful Eyes” and the Swede-tastic
riffing on “The Bullet Song” evoke a feeling of “here we go
AGAIN” instead of friendly nostalgia. But still, there’s a flicker
potential even in the band’s most dull moments, a love and
interest in the music they’re playing as opposed to a bunch of
tweenagers happening upon the death metal we’ve been
enjoying for the better part of two decades. Like their regional
death/thrash companions Revocation, they know it takes
more than speed and some warmed over Schuldiner to make
worthwhile death metal. In a time when looking back is more
desirable than looking forward (the future’s seemingly full of
floppy haircuts and the desire to mosh to EVERYTHING),
Smite the Righteous have the potential to do so correctly.
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