Insidious Disease – After Death (Nuclear Blast)
It has been ten years since Insidious Disease unleashed their debut, Shadowcast.
And given their members’ day jobs with the likes of Dimmu Borgir, Napalm Death and Susperia, it’s not surprising that they’ve taken a decade to finally release a successor.
But by the sound of this album, the boys have been raring to get stuck back into their Scandideath groove.
For Dimmu guitarist Silenoz, it’s a chance to step away from his main band’s symphonic black metal bombast and just raze hell with quickfire, lacerating riffery.
For Napalm bassist Shane Embury, it’s an opportunity to indulge his love of straight-up, undiluted death metal.
And for former-Morgoth vocalist Mark Grewe, it’s a way of reminding DM fans of his mighty roar.
Reinforced by the supreme talent of Puerto Rican drummer Tony Laureano – the guy has played with everyone from Nile to Nidingr – and Susperia axeman Cyrus, Insidious Disease have a pedigree that only the likes of Bloodbath can rival.
And the band’s collective capabilities are on show as soon as opener Soul Excavation bursts into life with a contagious, mid-paced attack.
The follow-up, Betrayer, is even nastier… a gruesome collision of ghoulish death doom and punky, high tempo rage.
Silenoz and Cyrus spectral fretwork shrouds tracks like Born Into Bondage and Divine Fire with pure malevolence and throughout, the band’s rhythmic dynamism keeps heads spinning. The tempo shifts and fills on Secret Sorcery? Magical.
Insidious Disease don’t deviate much from their chosen path – and After Death dips slightly mid-album as a result, with the uninspiring Invisible War a low point.
However, that song only slightly dents an otherwise impressive body of metal.
And in a creative purple patch for global DM, where both emerging acts and grizzled veterans are battling for supremacy, this multi-national act remain worthy of their supergroup status.
Photo credit: Metaworks.
