Review DESERTED FEAR ‘Veins of Fire”

Deserted Fear is one of the rising acts when it comes to death metal made in Germany. The band from Thuringia was formed in 2007 and has published five albums, of which “Doomsday” is the latest. Three years after the release of “Doomsday”, Deserted Fear is back with “Veins of Fire”. Their sixth longplayer contains ten songs that are supposed to pick things up where the band left off with its predecessor, but also show a stronger development of their sound.

The first song on the album is called “Into the Burning Lands”. It is a powerful and at the same time rather melodic opener, kept in a moderate tempo. The influence of Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal can’t be denied, which is also present in the following “The Truth”. Songs like “Idols Of Triumph” from the “Doomsday” album already showed some melodic moments in the guitar lines. The new songs take this a step further. I found myself thinking of bands like In Flames more than once while listening to “Veins of Fire”.

The deep growls are still there, but the band also pays more attention to the vocal lines. Instead of just barking out the vocals, the singing aspect gains. This doesn’t mean that Deserted Fear have lost the connection to their roots. What comes out of the speakers is still powerful death metal, like the heavy pounding “Blind”. At the same time there is a certain Gothenburg influence in tracks like “Storm Of Resistance”.

Photo: Manuel Glatter

“Rise and Fight” is a song that reflects the most traditional metal influences, especially when you listen to the beginning of the track with its harmonic guitar sound. Dark and equipped with a solid groove, that’s what “Echoes in the Silence” stands for, before “We are One” kicks in with a monstrous beat. The latter is a mid-paced death metal stomper with roaring guitars and hypnotic growls. This is followed by the title track, which also marks the end of the longplayer. “Veins of Fire” is another melodic highlight on an album that surprises in many ways.

Deserted Fear’s sixth longplayer is a well done release that shows the band more melodic than ever before. I already mentioned In Flames, but also the sound of bands like Arch Enemy influenced the new record of Deserted Fear. At the same time, the four-piece maintains a heavy and aggressive sound that can be heard in each of these ten songs.