Sworn Vengeance

Is there anybody out there who considers Severe Torture to be their absolute favorite band of all time? For whatever reason, out of all the death metal they've heard, Severe Torture just scratches that itch like no other band can? It just doesn't seem possible. Please, let me know if I'm wrong and they are your favorite band ever, because I'd love to see reasons for it that don't entail being friends with the band members. There's just really not a lot on Sworn Vengeance that any death metal fan will be unfamiliar with. Now, I understand that death metal doesn't have to reinvent the wheel every time a new album drops, but at the same time, you could argue that in order for an album to truly be spectacular, it's gotta have some sort of trait that is entirely its own. At the very least, it's gotta do something better than any other band can. I just cannot imagine Severe Torture wrapping up the recording of Sworn Vengeance and saying to themselves "now THIS is an album that's gonna turn heads and light the world on fire".

Maybe I'm missing the point. For the most part, Sworn Vengeance is a competent, serviceable death metal album. Some people might write this band off as a Cannibal Corpse clone, and while the influence is definitely present, Severe Torture's done their best to integrate it with other elements as time goes on. They are much more streamlined, accessible, and emphasize groove over chaos when compared to their Floridian doppleganger. The vocals are also noticeably different; Corpsegrinder's rapid-fire barking is replaced with a steady, low growl. This generally more straightforward approach might lead one to think that this falls into the brutal death metal subgenre, but I wouldn't really say that's the case either. The solos are quite pleasant sounding, and the riffs are closer to Blood Red Throne than they are Disavowed in that they emphasize a catchy melody over obtuse noodling. With that being said, this is in no way melodic death metal either. At times, Sworn Vengeance leans more towards the melodic side of things, at times the brutal side of things, but at the end of the day there's not much point in categorizing this with any qualifiers beyond "death metal".

This lack of specificity in sound has a lot to do with Severe Torture's inability to stand out. I'm not extensively familiar with Severe Torture's back catalog (apart from sampling a handful of tracks in preparation for this review), but from what I can tell they were a little more fast, aggressive and leaning more towards the "brutal" side of things on their first couple of albums (something like Misanthropic Carnage is distinctly different in aesthetic and sound), but over time they've mellowed out a little bit. Actually, it seems to mostly have occurred with this album. Fall of the Despised sort of hints at it, but Sworn Vengeance is noticeably more stripped-down and less immediately pummeling. There's no lineup tweak to accompany this slight step sideways in sound, either, as the band's kept a pretty consistent lineup since 1998. Perhaps that explains it, though: maybe after a few albums of trying to write the heaviest shit possible you just say "fuck it", don't try as hard, and write something that's more comfortable. How else do you explain a track like "Submerged in Grief"? That song has some sappy riffs that would fit in a While Heaven Wept album! To be fair, it is the closer (unless you have the version I do with some Cro-Mags and Entombed covers rounding out the album), but it still shows a slight attempt to evolve Severe Torture's sound. Combine that track with the slightly more melodic and groovy feel of Sworn Vengeance, and you could make a case that this is the most distinct album the band has put out.

Unfortunately, those slight tweaks don't completely save Sworn Vengeance from being a somewhat bland, albeit listenable death metal album. I don't mind this when it's on--in fact, I generally enjoy it a fair deal--but there isn't one particular track that makes me go "FUCK that was cool" or has a weird, noteworthy riff or anything like that. It's just an album. If you like death metal, you'll probably enjoy this a little bit. Sworn Vengeance has a little bit more character to it than Dutch modern death metal on the whole (which tends to be fairly faceless), but even then, I'm not gonna go out of my way to recommend this to anyone. Check this out if you really like uninspiring death metal, I guess? I dunno. It's your life, do what you want with it.

Sworn Vengeance is one of those albums which straight away grabs you by the scruff of your neck and smashes you square in the face. Now, if you think that Holland’s unholiest hell raisers are going to ease up for a second to give you a moment to gather up the shattered fragments of your skull scattered across the blood-soaked pavement, well then you’re horribly wrong. This album is absolutely relentless throughout its entirety and is a perfect example of how brutal death metal should be executed.

While this sheer animalistic approach has been butchered to death beyond recognition nowadays, Severe Torture’s barbaric plan of attack is actually an impressive one despite sounding somewhat monotonous at times. However with that being said, sounding repetitive isn’t exactly that bad of a thing especially in Sworn Vengeance’s case because the riffs fucking devastate! With every single track containing at least three distinctive, ridiculously catchy riffs, guitarists Thijs and Marvin's onslaught of brutal guitar riffing truly makes the album what it is. They’re your pretty standard death metal riffs, ranging from melodeath inspired sections to pummelling, half-time grooves with a little swedeath “buzz” injected into all of them. There are also some heavily syncopated chugging passages to be found as well as crunchy, often harmonized tremolo picking sections which compliment the guitar solos well. I know the guitarist’s fairly straight-forward approach isn’t exactly breaking any barriers or the most innovative, but with riffs and leads this awesome you really won’t care if they begin to sound recycled after awhile. The guitar solos are again, nothing out of the ordinary however the raw, aggressive style in which they are played gives tracks such as “Repeat Offender” and “Countless Villains” a ferocious bite to them.

The vocal performance by Dennis is definitely a huge improvement from his previous efforts and is much more audible. He has almost completely ditched the monotonous, ultra-low gutturals and adopted a much wider vocal range, shifting from thunderous growls to raspy grunts to punishing shrieks. The combination of his low growls and higher pitched screams are often layered together which create a vicious, grueling sound particularly in “Serenity Torn Asunder” and the title track. His enunciation is also a lot clearer and overall is just leaps and bounds better than his previous performances.

Furious blast beats, pounding double kick and the unrelenting assault of solid, fast-paced drumming also leave your ears completely devastated and destroyed, but in a good way. Seth has also displayed immense improvement and while his drumming isn’t too out of the ordinary either, his performance is commendable and a solid effort overall. “Countless Villains” is one his stronger efforts, opening up with a colossal triplet groove around the toms followed by a barrage of double bass hammered out at extreme pace. I am often easily impressed by speed and Seth has certainly lived up to my expectations as have all of the other members of Severe Torture.

Sworn Vengeance is an enormous step in the right direction and a must have for fans of Severe Torture and death metal in general. Stay on the look out for these guys in the future.

Has Severe Torture finally acquired that special edge they needed to feast with the higher order of death metal bands? I mean with everything being said about “Sworn Vengeance,” one could probably guess they were already buying beers for Cannibal Corpse and worshiping Satan with Deicide, yet there’s a little tizzy prowling in the midst: they still aren’t. You see, Severe Torture’s invasion plan here is divided into two aggressive fronts: bomb the enemy with mutilating death metal, and then proceed to demonstrate absolute dullness by attacking at the same musical rates. While nuking the complete shit out of something would probably work well in war, it really doesn’t here; “Sworn Vengeance” is brutal as a hammer-meets-skull episode, yet you’ll only find emptiness inside that hollow head after looking past such brute force. If this record were some random guy, he would probably be found with severed heads, algebra textbooks, buckets of drool, and one stupid facial expression that just smells like retardation.

So how does Severe Torture fare during this complex demonstration, you ask? Very good at first glance, because you’re quickly tossed into mechanical riffs, digging barks, cranking bass lines, punishing blastbeats, and solos that sting like shrapnel without warning; and it’s all layered together quite nicely as well. I think the pure bloodthirstiness of it all is entirely obvious, but there are a few moments of solid breaking into chopping mid-paced sections of sturdy instrumentation with cringing death metal overtones. Severe Torture will definitely rip out your intestines if you aren’t careful, and anyone that’s looking at this relentless walloping should be appropriately armed in case these maniacal madmen get too destructive.

But when diving further into “Sworn Vengeance,” you’ll find it a lot like an attractive member of the opposite sex: good looks with a vacant head. Besides mathematical arrangements and furious altitudes, we have ten songs that are essentially very similar when stacked together as so. Basically, Netherland’s fierce crusaders apply pounding violence without adding a single quality that’s remotely vibrant or colorful; it’s just brutal death metal lacking needed variety. After this whole listening affair, it becomes really clear other things are needed aside from blasting or insane shredding, and you’ll also notice how predictable it gets toward the end due to cycling the same path endlessly. Severe Torture’s special blade might have the power to puncture like a jackhammer, yet the wielders of such power experience devastating injuries themselves; quite a double-edged sword they brought into battle.

Now what Severe Torture offers with “Sworn Vengeance” is rather pleasant at times, yet there’s just that overwhelming stench of general tastelessness plaguing goodness when it could actually be flavorful and filling. The fourth Severe Torture outing represents technical death metal at fatal limits; however, there must be more activity in order for an album like “Sworn Vengeance” to vitally function, and that’s the only thing these Dutch cannibals forgot when forging a perishable idol. Pick up “Sworn Vengeance” if you’re a fan of this band, but other onlookers should be wary of the novice-laden expertise lurking inside a plastic disc covered in blastbeats, scholarly riffs, deep growls, and nothing else.

Many have noticed Severe Torture's music has been leaning towards the technical side. With the release of "Fall of the Despised", we got our first listening of Severe Torture's true technical musicianship. It was done very well and praised by most of the fans. With the new album "Sword Vengeance", they keep the technical in with the brutal. When it comes to technical death metal most think of Necrophagist, Martyr, Beneath the Massacre, and maybe even some Spawn of Possession. Severe Torture pull it off in a somewhat different way, no neoclassical shred solos or random sweeps.

The vocals are standard Severe Torture, low growls and the occasional grindore-ish grunts. The vocals are probably the best to date for Severe Torture, more audible than Fall of the Despised and executed a lot better. They fit perfect with the musical pace and speed of the drumming. The guitarists do shine on this album, with non-typical harmonized riffs and very "old school" death metal solos. One song, Serenity Torn Asunder really showcases the playing skills and progression of the guitarists.

Many could compare the playing to deathcore-ish melo-death riffs, but that is not the case here. The drumming is perfectly matched with the guitarists, many slow pace and fast pace blasts and just overall speed. It may not be as brutal or up to par with Fall of the Despised but it is done very well. The drumming of Severe Torture is not out of the ordinary, it does become repetitious but most of the time is done well.

The bass is somewhat audible too, suprisingly. Not too much to say about the bass. This album is not out of the ordinary in the technical death metal scene, but Severe Torture are certainly underrated. In most songs, the riffs are original and the music is perfected, but sometimes it seems they weren't original enough; as the album eventually becomes repetitious...on small levels.

Severe Torture always seem to get better with every album they release. When they released their debut "Feasting on Blood" what you heard was some good riffs and blistering blast beats like most generic brutal death metal bands. Then, with "Misanthropic Carnage" they showed some signs of maturity with better riffing and song structures. When, they debuted on Earache Records they unleashed "Fall of the Despised" This again was a giant leap forward. Gone were the blast beats from the previous records as well as the simplistic guitar work and in their place was technical drumming as well as the introduction to some memorable leads.

Now, with their fallow up "Sworn Vengeance" they have offered up the best qualities of their three previous releases in one 35 minute onslaught of excellent death metal. The opening track "Dismal Perception" seems to fade in directly from "Fall of the Despised" into a fast paced assault that starts this record off in the right direction. There are some very memorable riffs here this time around such as; the main riff on the track "Repeat Offender" as well as the opening riff to "Countless Villains" and on the track "Buried Hatchet" we are introduced to guest vocal appearances by, Jason Netherton (Misery Index) and Che Snelping
(ex-Born From Pain) which adds an extra punch to an already very brutal song.

On Sworn Vengeance, we find the ever improving Severe Torture putting forth their best album to date and they have certainly established themselves as one of the dominate death metal bands of the 21st century. It seems as thoug they have finally found their niche and with a record like Sworn Vengeance it really makes you anticipate where Severe Torture will go from here.