SIX OF SWORDS - Regime Decay
January 3, 2019, 5 years ago
(Saturnal)
I like Toronto’s Six Of Swords’ game plan, the death metal group releasing this 25-minute EP as a follow-up to 2015 debut Polar Vortex, which was a 14-minute EP. Clearly, they’re not causing supply and demand concerns, the six songs here (one of which, “Hells Messiah”, was previously released as a digital single in 2016) focusing on, yup, quality over quantity.
And I love how it starts, the band laying down grimy, Morbid Angel-esque sludgey death on opener “Eye For An Eye” with tons of authority, the song shedding the metalcore leanings Polar Vortex had in vibe and sonics, here Six Of Swords sounding like hoary, hairy DM lifers. Second song “No Amnesia” actually starts off with the same sludge tempo, a bold move, and one I applaud. It gets into grinding death about a minute and a half in before dropping back down to a slug sludge. Then, “Malodorous” goes even slower, making me think this is no longer a death metal/metalcore band, this is a sludgey death metal band, a growth and change I support. The song rules, and is heavy as can be; the tempo slowly picks up, and before you realize it, it's a thrashing death rager. Well played. And the EP continues on in this fashion, Six Of Swords firmly staying on the slow, sludgey side of DM while stepping into mid-tempo turf occasionally (parts of “Hedonistic Gluttony”), the victories massive, the sound huge and enjoyable, things really starting to click for this young band.
