Review ENTRAILS ‘An Eternal Time of Decay’

For quite some time Entrails have been one of the established death metal bands from the land of elks. Having started Entrails in 1990, the Swedes worked for eight years without any great success, i.e. album release.

Slowly the band fell into oblivion, but this changed in 2008. Entrails were suddenly back, and more productive than expected. Two demos were recorded and after a deal with F.D.A. Records was signed, nothing could hinder the release of the debut, 20 years after the band’s foundation.

In the meantime more records were added and with ‘An Eternal Time of Decay’ the next album is in the starting blocks. Founding member Jimmy Lundqvist and crew have recorded eleven hellish metal tracks that they unleash on mankind. Rooted in the early days of Swedish death metal, Entrails still sound old-school today. However, this does not mean that the quartet plays old-fashioned metal. The band uses the here and now to give the album a rich and powerful sound, which greatly benefits songs like ‘Fear the End’. More than once one has to think of bands like Dismember, which is not really surprising due to the founding time and place. Nevertheless, Entrails know how to give their own devilish timbre to their sound, which makes listening through ‘An Eternal Time of Decay’ an enjoyable experience. The ingenious beginning of ‘The Dead’ alone is a listening feast.

The songs on the album are mostly kept short and crisp. Entrails prefers the hammer on the anvil approach and keeps the pieces at a maximum of four minutes. Still, there are two breakouts. ”Dead By Evil” is a relatively long track and is kept at a moderate pace. Entrails lose nothing in intensity, though, and it’s rather as if the listener, through the hypnotic rhythm and structure, is drawn into a maelstrom.

‘An Eternal Time of Decay’ is a well-made death metal album. Bone crushing riffs and hellish growls result in a hellish mixture that is also still clean and clearly produced. The Swedish hell thunder strikes again.