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Denmark's Neckbreakker are becoming one of underground death metal's most talked about names. Having fairly recently been signed to Nuclear Blast Records, they're now just a few days away from not only their label debut, but their full debut album, 'Within The Viscera'. With a gritty picture of chained hands on the cover, it doesn't instantly look like a stereotypical death metal album, lacking the usual trappings of blood, gore, fire, and indeed viscera, but do not be fooled - it sounds as heavy as anything you could ask for.
Mixing influences and sounds from the obvious forefathers of the genre, a la Death and Morbid Angel, with more modern influences and styles in the vein of modern hardcore, brutal death metal, and some technical portions that have a slight tinge of Cryptopsy to them, the band have a healthy volume of ingredients in their bubbling cauldron of sound. They're a nice bridge between a few different areas of the genre, but ultimately sit closest to the modern death metal sound that we've come to recognise over the last five years - and their nine song debut album is an excellent addition to the genre.
Opener 'Horizon Of Spikes' shifts into gear quickly and without a hitch, working to warm up your ears (and likely legs, shoulders, neck, and vocal chords) by way of its aggressive guitar work, incessant drums, and pained gutturals. Walking down the path more followed for death metal bands of late, they've also included a feisty breakdown at the back end of the track to whet the appetites of any hardcore lovers who've happened to venture this direction. Guitarists Joakim Kaspersen and Johan Lundvig have their work cut out for them on this single, but they don't let a single second go to waste in a potent introduction to the band's sound.
Next up comes 'Putrefied Body Fluid' which starts with a riff that could get someone in a neck brace headbanging, and keeps the energy high all throughout - with some particular highlights coming by way of some very enjoyable guitar work and pummelling drums at the end of the song that make for addictive listening. Lead single 'Shackled To A Corpse' follows, and as anyone who's heard it already can testify, it is an absolute rager of a song. The five piece have given it the kind of caustic atmosphere usually found on Venus or in undersea volcanic vents, and it turns the edges of your mouth down into an approving grimace without hesitation.
Marking a brief shift in sound and song titling comes 'Nephilim', a slower and more deliberate intro belies what lies ahead. The band launch into an old school chug before the vocals kick in over a rampaging instrumental section, complete with proper death metal guitar fills and runs. The drums are, yet again, absolutely unstoppable - Anton Bregendorf has clearly had his Weetabix - and the solo cuts in with extreme satisfaction guaranteed, to finish the song ahead of 'Purgatory Rites', which uses more foul riffing and ludicrous drumming.
Track six, 'Unholy Inquisition', is the longest song on the group's debut by some length, being over a minute longer than the two closest competitors. With more than enough in the song to make for a whole track before it reaches the gurn-inducing halftime section, this is the best possible example of the phrase 'it's a marathon, not a sprint'. Bring your Lucozade. This is backed up by 'Absorption', which hits like a train and, at almost five and a half minutes long, won't let up for quite some time. This may be the most outright aggressive we hear vocalist Cristoffer Kofoed across the LP, and most definitely features some of the best howls we've yet heard.
The second to last moment of malice found here is 'SILO', a romping, stomping, circle pit creator. There are plenty enough grooves and riffs here for the whole album, and they're all backed up by the string slinging of bassist Sebastian Knoblauch, who underpins things with a crushingly heavy bottom end that will do serious damage to speakers and inattentive crowd members at a show. Finally, we're eye-to-eye with the finale - the third and final single on the album, 'Face-Splitting Madness'. This song feels utterly perfect for the finisher, with its venomous sound that takes just a slight shift from the majority of the album and keeps things fresh enough to reach the breakdown with a whole new lease of life. The unsettling guitar that plays out the finish is a fine way to wrap up proceedings, making for a very strong end to a very strong debut.
A heady mix of modern and old school death metal, Neckbreakker’s debut album is ready to do exactly what their band name suggests. 'Within The Viscera' is a stellar debut, with the only hint of the bands inexperience showing through the relative lack of variation across the LP, but that likely won't be at all a problem for any fans of rip-your-face-off aggressive death metal. Ripping between head-spinning riffs and brutal chugs, the Danes are ready to make their very deserved way into the collective awareness of death metal fans across Europe and the world.
'Within The Viscera' will be released on December 6th via Nuclear Blast Records.
Words: Jake Longhurst
Photo: Malene Vinge Jakobsen
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