By Jonny Bakes
Today I was greeted by an email that claimed to be an album from “Belgium’s best kept secret” which immediately got me thinking about what I can remember Belgium is famous for… Chocolate, Tintin and Poirot were the first things to come to mind but I can certainly say that melodic death metal is not something that would have made the list had I carried on. Yet here I sit with the debut album from Slaughter The Giant which promises to be an impressive display of melody and brutality combined to form the perfect weapon to tackle even the largest foe. The end result is ‘Depravity’ and it hit the shelves just in time for Halloween, which is fairly apt!
The album opens with title track, ‘Depravity’, and starts with a seriously epic orchestral piece that builds up a tense atmosphere and has you wondering which direction the album will take; will it lean on the melodic side like Insomnium, or will it favour the heavier end like At The Gates? Well I think that direction becomes pretty clear once the orchestral opening is out of the way and the band kicks in with full force with some fast riffage and harsh vocals. There’s no doubt that ‘Depravity’ is a heavy affair which follows in the footsteps of the darker side of this genre – Fleshgod Apocalypse, for example. There’s plenty of fast and heavy drumming to accompany predominantly fast riffs that are littered with melodic sections and even a healthy dose of symphonic elements making an appearance to top it off.
There were a couple of tracks that stood out on my first listen through, one of which was selected as a leading single with a music video – an honour that is well deserved. ‘The Undead’ sets into motion with rolling drums followed by a riff that immediately grabs the attention then while you’re already drawn in, the vocals of Benny Ubacha deliver a suckerpunch to the face. His vocals are full of sinister menace that brings a foreboding tone to this track. And this energy multiplies when we hit a terse breakdown preceding a melodic guitar solo to break up this assault on the senses.
If you’re after a quick indication of the general feel of ‘Depravity’ then ‘The Undead’ is probably the best track to dive into as it does a great job of displaying it. Another worthy mention has to go to ‘Co-ed Butcher’ which really leans into symphonic elements that are reminiscent of Cradle of Filth, without sounding a whole lot similar. It’s a little different to what you might have expected, which is probably why it stands out, but nevertheless it’s worth checking out too!
Overall, this is a pretty strong debut from Slaughter The Giant. I’d say they’re still on the road to being able to take on a fully mature giant, but there’s certainly promise that their trajectory will take them in that direction. As you’ve probably already picked up, this is something that will appeal to fans who like their death metal with a little bit of melody without losing the brutal edge. If that’s what you’re here for then there’s a good chance that this piece of ‘Depravity’ will scratch that itch.
For me… I tend to lean towards the other end of the melodeath spectrum, so this is something that may make a rare appearance in my repertoire but I will still be keeping an eye on Slaughter The Giant to see what may come in the future.
- ‘Depravity’ is out today (Friday 28 October). You can get your copy HERE.
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