Deathpath 2011

"This is not bad at all for a debut album, but it's not all the way up there yet. Some of it is because groove metal, which is the main genre framework of "Deathpath", is a tricky genre, having been ridden to death by post-Pantera thrash bands (including some (in)famous turns by Anthrax, Sacred Reich and even Exodus and Overkill) in the 90s and nu metal bands later on.

So, if one wants to play successful groove metal one has to do it right, and Days of Anger do it right most of the time. They are good at incorporating classic thrash metal style riffs and drum patterns into a groove metal framework, and their level of proficiency at doing this is much higher than most other groove metal bands. Compositionally, they have succeeded at placing groovy parts in strategically advantageous places - as in the choruses, which adds to the catchiness factor.

And hats off to Days of Anger for bringing some thrash back into the groove.

Although this is a debut album, the musicians themselves are very experienced, having played in primarily more traditional metal bands before - which makes itself felt at times on this album with bursts of traditional metal popping up sporadically. Take, for instance, the opening of the very first track, which is pure Van Halen-esque "rock out with your cock out" whammy bar noise!

The lyrics are, well, silly and kind of immature, which is a bit odd since the band members are not exactly kids anymore. And I think that phrases like "fuck that shit" are overused to beyond the point of mere annoyance. But in some cases, like "Fuck That (Silly God)", this immaturity sort of flips around and becomes appreciable in a sort of kitchy way - then again, I do agree with the message of that song, and musically it's very well performed.

Productionwise, things could have been a bit better. It is not catastrophic, but I think that the guitar sound is a bit too fuzzy. If it were more defined, it would do a bigger service to the rhythmic affinities of many of their groovy riffs.

But, in all, a very convincing debut-album, which shows the world how to "fuck that shit".

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"