Hailing from Chicago, Like Rats have come to utterly punish you into dust with their new LP. II (Southern Lord Records) could very well be one of the most crushing Death Metal releases in the past few years. Rather than the expected constant blast beasts and speeding riffs, they slowed it down to a rather mid-paced tempo. Essentially capturing what you could consider to be the soundtrack of punching someone in the face. II is an album that I found myself strumming my air guitar along to the constant pulverizing riffs multiple times. II definitely feels inspired by the earlier days of Death Metal. Early Celtic Frost being the shining example that comes to mind when looking for a comparison. You would expect no less for a band that shares members with Weekend Nachos.

Coming in around thirty-four minutes in length, II is a rather straight-forward album. As I mentioned, II is a mid-paced album that doesn’t slow down and rarely speeds up. You could say they played it safe with this release. There are no moments that will blow you away as to how they performed such a complicated riff and/or drum fill. I beg of you to not take it the wrong way as this is no complaint. After a few listens, I found this album to be rather enjoyable. Like Rats wasn’t aiming to be unique but they definitely recorded some refreshing death metal. In fact I feel it’s an album many may enjoy regardless where you elitist opinions lay. It’s a promising release for an up and coming band and I look forward to future material. 

Like Rats has created a bruising sound that they can build on and branch out. Keep your attention on this group.

7.0/10

DEREK RIX

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