Church of the Dead are ready to release more crushing old-school Death Metal with their second album Beyond Death (Redefining Darkness). The band does a terrific job of infusing several different styles into their classic death metal assault, black metal, some light synths, and even some punk rock are all thrown into the mix. The results leave a riff-heavy album that relies more on sheer power and brutality than any over-the-top theatrics. 

For the most part, Church of the Dead performs most of their songs at a slow to mid-pace with plenty of groovy and sludge-filled riffs. The vocals spew the perfect level of brutality and help elevate the heaviness of the rest of the tracks. While the album may start off slower for some fans the heaviness of the songs are sure to keep the listeners’ attention.

The largest highlights of Beyond Death take place in the middle of the album when the band delivers an absolute crushing cover of Mayhem’s ‘Chainsaw Gutfuck’. It takes real balls to cover any Deathcrush song and Church of the Dead delivers the goods here.

Church of the Dead does not give you much time to recover from that classic track before delivering ‘Whore of Eden’, which may be the album’s best song. It is the perfect blend of punk and death with insane riffs and savage vocals.

Speed freaks will be rewarded for their patience with the high-octane song, ‘Wormwood’ The band finally lets loose with blast beats and tremolo-styled riffs as they showcase more of their black metal influences. 

All in all, Church of the Dead delivers a satisfying old-school experience. You won’t find anything new or genre-defining here but you won’t be disappointed here. If you find yourself looking for some classic-styled Death Metal without any over-stylistic or questionable choices look no further. 

No surprises, no fuck given, just pure 100% classic Death Metal. The way Satan intended.

Buy the album here:

htpps://www.churchofthedead.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-death

7 / 10

ANDREW RISCH