Cianide

Gods of Death

Hells Headbangers 2011

Long-running Chicago lords (errr...gods) of death metal Cianide return for their sixth full-length album.  Not known for any excesses in instrumentation and song writing frippery, you know what you can expect on Gods of Death, and the name says it all.  The whole album can be exemplified by opener, Desecration Storm.  It's a midtempo assault of meaty riffs and pounding drums.  Crushing rhythms are laid on top of you like slabs of bloody meat.  Up next is the Celtic Frost drenched Forsaken Doom.  The main riff is tinged with a doomy edge that brings to mind Procreation of the Wicked's monstrous stomp.  Rising of the Beast picks up the tempo slightly and smashes like a mace into your skull.  Guttural vocals and hammering drums bludgeon your skull mercilessly.  The track even ends with a blistering guitar solo that leaves your ear drums charred.  More Celtic Frost-isms are seen in the thick rhythms of Dead And Rotting.  The song creeps along, like it is prowling for prey, and then flexes up periodically with faster fretwork.  By contrast, Idolater is a burly bruiser of a song.  Muscular riffs and a relentless tempo continue to batter your body with violent blows as the song moves along.  I feel some similarities of style can be made with Boltthrower, I mean with the heavy, beefy riffs and the straight-foward way in which they are presented, especially on the slightly more epic feeling The One True Death.  The formula is simple and effective.  But by the end of the album I feel like with the simplicity of the tracks they can be overly long, but if you enjoy what is going on then why have the proceedings end?  With Cianide, you get exactly what you expect, heavy death metal with no-frills and no compromise.