Review of The Duskfall - Lifetime Supply of Guilt

Though most may say that the fork has been proverbially stuck in melodic death metal, aided by the US core injection, but don’t tell that to Sweden’s The Duskfall who for three albums now have carried the classic NWSDM flag dropped by the likes of In Flames and Dark Tranquillity (though to be fair DT have picked it up again). With members of Gates of Ishtar, the lineage of The Duskfall go all the way back to 1992, and their experience in the scene pays off with a stout, if predictable foray into a genre once thought dead.

Armed with an expectedly polished Daniel Bergstrand production, The Duskfall romp and gallop their way through 10 tracks of generally up-tempo, thrashy dual licks and lively metal; None of it breathtaking, none of it disappointing. Of notice though is the lack of Hearse-like bluesy, rock n roll structures that made Frailty and Source a little more personable.

Short, sturdy opener “Trust is Overrated”- an aggressive, in your face, pure thrash attention getter before “The Shallow End” settles into more familiar, tempered melodic death metal territory. The first real highlight though is the antagonistic yet melodic thrashings of “Break the Pact” which shows Carnal Forge levels of intensity along with a chorus and actual pacing. The stern mid paced march of “A Stubborn Soul” has a hefty yet harmonic gait that few US clone bands could muster without coining some sort of ‘core’ comparison. Here it’s just a weighty groove. “Shoot it In” is a traditional layered yet melodic, controlled neo-thrash number that’s tame compared to the following assault of “Going Down Screaming”. As you can tell from the song titles, even though non Gates of Ishtar vocalist Kai Jaakola penned the lyrics, The Duskfall are an angry bunch, something that carried over from Frailty’s tangible anger due to Gates of Ishtar’s frustrating later days. Jaakola also keeps things thankfully clean vocal free, as the music is acoustic foray free and the album pretty much romps and shreds for its entirety with “Sympathy Has Deceased” and closer "Relive Your Fall” being a primary deliverer of intense shred.

Lifetime Supply of Guilt is hardly a world beater, but like Detonation and America’s own The Absence, in a surprising turn of events, is a refreshing throwback to ‘pure’ melodic death metal free from any sort or ‘core’ inter breeding.

Solid. Reliable. Enjoyable.

Release Details

The Duskfall

Lifetime Supply of Guilt

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