Thy Final Pain

It seems to me that a new sub-genre of death metal has recently rampaged onto the scene. Yes, the age of rhythmic death metal is upon us and, with is syncopated drum and guitar grooves dictating the increased headbangability which it boasts over other types of the genre, I find it hard to see who isn’t going to embrace this turbocharged new edition to the death metal scene. Thy Final Pain are one of the bands involved heavily with this new kind of metal mixing old style 80‘s Gothenburg death metal with newer thrashy influences. Think Devildriver but 20 years ago and you will pretty much find what Thy Final Pain is, a four man band who make music with the power of 40! What’s more, both founding members have illustrious metal histories being from the esteemed death metal band Debauchery through years 2006/2007 before breaking off and forming their new creation which is Thy Final Pain.

The opening track of an album is so important and I think it is fair to say, without exaggeration, that these guys have nailed it; a thunderbolt of an opener named ‘My Temptation’ which, incidentally, was the title track of their 2007 released debut demo. The track starts with the drums alone, a common tactic in more classic death metal to create an insane atmosphere for when the guitar enters the equation, and insane is the right word to describe the riff riddled with power and syncopation which lies on top of the original beat. Full of mental melody and progressions seemingly formed by Satan himself, this track sets a high bar in terms of the quality of the rest of the album. The second track continues the opener’s impressive trend and the introductory riff is packed with vicious punch mellowing into a slower progression to make way for the vocals; a progression somewhere between funeral doom and the slower side of death metal allowing the vocals to create a fearfully intense mood. The entire album keeps in tune with these opening two songs. All of the tracks are extremely rhythmic with varying speeds and riff inspiration. If I had to make a choice of favourite song then I would have to go with the first one which is, in my opinion, one the best songs that I have heard from this interesting sub-genre. It is easier to pick my least favourite…the fourth track, ‘Lord of Childrens Dreams’, lacked some of the range of guitar work that we find on the rest of the album but the double bass pedal drumming is fit for an instructional video!

Overall…a fantastic album with few faults and no really bad songs. A must for all fans of this upcoming genre of groove/rhythm metal as well as for all fans ranging from death metal to the heavier side of metalcore. Epitaph carries diversity which rivals anything I have heard so far this year. A triumph of true metal from a band who should go far in their careers. I am looking forward to the sequel!