LIQUID GRAVEYARD - By Nature So Perverse
December 7, 2016, 7 years ago
(Sleaszy Rider)
Sometimes you just gotta let the lineup do the talkin', and here it does: John Walker (Cancer), Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Nick Barker (Lock Up, Brujeria, Cradle Of Filth)... what more do we need to say? That this is more or less exactly what you think it is? Yup: combine Cancer's you-know-it death metal with Barker's clickety drums and Embury's smart death/grind sensibilities, and you've got Liquid Graveyard, the band also adding in a bit more atmosphere and melody than you might expect during this cool and satisfying album.
At 48 minutes, By Nature So Perverse does threaten to wear out its welcome, but with a sound this comforting and familiar—but not so familiar that it becomes boring—it's hard to really want to ask it to leave. The mid-tempo crunch of cuts like late-album highlight “Sour Conspiracy” pack a punch, as do the brisker, more typical DM numbers, of which there are many. Nothing amazing, but solid DM here with a few more shades and hues than the average death band, and, again, that lineup is pretty damn hard to beat, with Embury only playing bass on the album and not serving as a full-time member, but, still: colour us impressed.
