Rated-X

Talking about death metal and not mentioning Sweden at some point in the conversation is nearly impossible. They greatly contributed to the classic death metal scene and they even invented its melodic counterpart. Since those two genres are their main export, the realms of brutal death metal are uncharted waters for them. While US bands like Suffocation and Broken Hope were perfecting the craft, the Swedish were sleeping on the idea of more aggressive, pummeling death metal for the most part. Not Deranged though.

Rated-X is the debut full-length of the band, but the vicious trio puts all the Suffocation clones to shame. It's not as generic as Internal Bleeding for example, but they aren't a Cryptopsy either. The vocals mainly have the expected deep guttural growls that either follow the riffs or bark on their own tirelessly. Per Gyllenbäck's tone sounds like Frank Mullen possessed the body of the Cannibal Corpse era Chris Barnes, but tried to sing Liege of Inveracity anyways. Contrary to what you may think, the end result is amazing.

Surprisingly, the guitars aren't the main selling point of the record. Don't get me wrong, they are far from being bad, but they feel a bit too standard compared to their sophomore record (which is easily one of my favorite brutal death metal albums). They are mainly in your usual down-tuned brutal death metal vein, but they exclude breakdowns and add a tiny bit of that Swedish death metal magic to their tone. So if the riffing isn't what makes this album stand out, then what does? Rikard Wermén's choice of instrument, the drums. They are in your face the whole time with the incredible bass and cymbal sound. When the guitars turn into buzzsaws, the drums start the blasting of beats like the drummer's life depends on it, but that's not all he got! He showcases that he is perfectly capable of playing tight even when he has to complicate things a little bit.

...as a Wolf and (Clim)axe offer the best riffs and licks of the entire album. The former one has some interesting tempo changes and the riffs are also varied. (Clim)axe, on the other hand, starts with guns blazing right away. The relentless assault of down-tuned guitars and the ferocious barks set the mood for the explosive solo towards the end. This great and all, but I think it's time to address the elephant in the room. Yes, I'm talking about the Paint it Black cover. The fact that this exists defies logic completely, but for some odd reason, it works. There is just something about my favorite Rolling Stones song being played with blast beats, down-tuned axes, and a combination of shrieks and growls.

If you don't set your expectations too high, you will have fun with this record. Even though it's only their debut, it's slightly better than your stereotypical brutal death metal album. That being said, it's obviously nowhere near as good as High on Blood, Intrauterine Cannibalism, or None So Vile so if you are searching for something groundbreaking, you are better off with any of the aforementioned records.

The highlights of the album are (Clim)axe, Paint it Black, Unleash My Hunger and ...as a Wolf.