Continuing the theme which occupied much of 2021’s Resurgence (Nuclear Blast) album, Floridian death metal act Massacre returns with four more tracks based on the works of influential Rhode Island science fiction horror author HP Lovecraft.
Although crushing opener ‘Behind the Serpent’s Curse’ is primarily based on The Curse Of Yig, a short story co-authored by New Zealand author Zealia Bishop, the song’s subtext contains a warning about untrustworthy people who do nothing but spread lies. A savage mid-paced groove punctuated by bursts of speed and a typically fingertip-shredding guitar solo, the song also features duelling vocals from frontman Kam Lee and Anders Odden of Cadaver, the Norwegian vocalist returning the favour after Lee appeared on the similarly themed ‘Feed The Pigs’ in 2020.
‘The Dunwich Horror’ is a pulsating eruption of speed and barbed wire riffs based on the disturbing novella of the same name while ‘The Mythos That Lovecraft Built’ is a fairly self-explanatory blast of skin-shredding death metal which celebrates the works of Lovecraft, creator of The Cthulhu Mythos, a series of (often loosely) interconnected stories about creatures with vividly horrific and often unpronounceable names such as Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, and Azathoth. The final foray into lurking, unutterable horror, ‘The Thing on the Doorstep’ features chunky riffs and a frantic dive-bombing guitar solo, and is based on a story about death, madness and demonic possession. Just your typical day at the Lovecraft office, really.
An uncompromising slab of old school Floridian death metal, Mythos delivers everything you’ve come to expect from Massacre over the years. Speed, aggression, snarling vocals and piledriving riffs that could awaken Cthulhu himself, it’s all too brief running time still managing to leave your neck in a severe state of disrepair. The Elder Gods approve.
Buy the album here: https://bfan.link/Massacre-Mythos
8 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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