Album Reviews : Sewercide – Severing the Mortal Coil

Every once in a while, it’s a pleasant security in regressing back to the standards of days gone by. It’s with that in mind that makes Sewercide’s EP Severing the Mortal Coil worthwhile.

The guitar work on the EP is reminiscent of old Obituary, in the sense that the main passages are simple chord progressions, tremolo sections, and doom-laden introductions. This really can’t get any more old school influenced. Unfortunately, the solos leave a bit to be desired, but I was content enough to get past them because the main riffs are still catchy enough to maintain interest.

The vocals on the album appear influenced by the late, great Chuck Shuldiner. They are a little unrefined, and are a little abrasive, but I suppose that is the general sentiment, after all.

The drum work is also heavily influenced by old school, Florida-based death metal. This isn’t particularly up to par with others of the previous death metal generation, but they perform sufficiently. The double kicking is more rock and classic heavy metal-based, not exactly evoking the blistering intensity of death metal, but again it is still passable enough to tap your feet to.

Overall, the EP was enjoyable enough to listen to, and can’t really be scrutinized too much because of it being their debut effort, aside from a few splits. There is still a significant amount of room for improvement, which hopefully time and commitment should remedy. With the opportunity for a revival in the popularity and prevalence of old school death metal, it’s something I would hate to see squandered, especially so close to home.

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