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Dååth > Dååth > Reviews
Dååth - Dååth

Its a bit DAAFT but better than the last - 70%

JoeBloggz, November 5th, 2010

Very rarely have I heard a band turn around from going in a pointless direction with their sound. Daath are like the new punching bag in underground metal because of their apparent 'spiral into the mainstream'. While it’s also apparent that its widely accepted that their debut was the best album and probably only good album, this new self titled effort is at least a step in a good alternative. Those who have something to say about copycatting, hold your breath: It’s more than just a bit halfway decent this time.

Starting off with the intro track which is 'Genocidal Maniac' we have a sort of ridiculous guitar intro not unlike the style of an elongated version of Dissections 'Nexion 218' although I'd hardly say they sound the same. But then it blasts off into this blast beat filled melody fest that alternates between short segments of high speed Carcass-ish not-melodic-yet-melodic riffing and some pseudo-breakdowns. Along with some almost disturbing sounding synths, it’s actually not that bad and a much better opener than on 'The Concealers'. The first minute of the second track cements the need for Daath to actually being recognised as having a large death metal influence, if not then being an actual death metal act. Although there ARE breaks here and there, they last maybe 2 very short bars before kicking off again and really don’t sound that bad at all, even if they border on unnecessary.

Unlike on 'The Concealers' which sounded like a really bad Demon Hunter knock off (who are really bad anyway), Daath actually have a sense of melody this time round. Although there's this idea that every new death metal band has to rip off the Gothenburg scene to some degree, I've listened to at least 25 bands from that scene and I can say that Daath doesn't have a thing in common with them, except the vocals sounding universally the same when it comes down to it.

Production wise, it’s a much better affair than the previous album. While the guitars on 'Concealers' sounded brittle and muffled to a degree, on the self titled they have a fat thick sound that layers between the other instruments really well. Another note to make is that the tracks on this album are far shorter than on 'Concealers' with an average time of 3:25. Of course, after 3 or 4 songs, it’s apparent to see why they're so short. Instead of keeping solid drum rhythms together, the drummer has had an overdrive switch planted into his neck and nearly every rhythm is composed entirely of blast beats or double bass drum thrash rhythms. Even for a band that’s not strictly death metal, it’s just a bit too O.T.T and leaves wanting for memorable listening.

The guitar work is FAR better on this album. Apart from the odd chromatic Slipknot riff which lurches its head here and there (like on the song 'Double Tap Suicide') it’s really an improvement which includes some very awesome fills and much more interesting solo work. The riffs themselves are much more complex than on 'The Concealers' as well and are structured out evenly without sounding dry or recycled.

Of course, there are still some really bad moments on this album. The intro to 'The Decider' sounds like a really bad KoRn intro that would be bad even for KoRn. A lot of the high speed moments in the album are interrupted with 5 second breaks and restarts which break the flow of the song and become annoying after it happens 20 bloody times. Another overall bad point is that it’s not a long album, but there are a lot of songs. It sounds like they were trying to fill out space when the same blast beat sequence gets into your ears again.

Overall, not a terrible release but it’s not really anything like their other, safer material. After a while, you appreciate the album for at least being different although it will polarize opinions and the whole blast beat overkill is still daft.