Review of Drawn And Quartered - Extermination Revelry

What I was expecting from Drawn & Quartered is nowhere near what I actually got. And I’m still in shock because the product they delivered is actually quite good. Thinking I was going to get the same old horse shit amateur brutal death (and how can you blame me, w/ songs titled “Kill for my Master”, “Necrophile Decapitator”, “Sodomized & Butchered”, etc.), I was perplexed yet pleasantly surprised to hear a band that has actually written some decent songs w/ very memorable riffs that carved themselves into that grey blob I like to call my brain. D&Q have put thought and planning into these works and it shows. To get an idea of their sound, think Immolation…only significantly more guttural and more focused on the capabilities of the individual songs. The songs accomplish their missions, and they do so in a violent whirl. Even when the tempo cuts to the sloth chunk, the sound is still very dense and the commotion remains apparent. Each piece has distinguished riffs, and surprisingly, leads. Again, the soloing brings Immolation to mind, but also w/ dashes of earlier Cannibal Corpse. D&Q milk everything out of each track, sometimes borderline to being overdone, but never actually go over the edge into the overkill abyss. Their moods are staked early and remain w/ help of above average songwriting. “Into the Ovens” is the early attention grabber w/ a Cianide type hulking, churning riff; very slow and lingering, until it speeds into 3 separate quality riffs backed by solid blast beats. The guitar work is very layered & chaotic. Each speaker emits different tones at times; it’s actually quite detailed. “Worshippers of Total Death” is another song w/ standout riffing that is very emotional and totally unlike anything I had anticipated. The guitar sound is thick; not “chunky” thick, like 20 guitars playing at the same time thick. Once you hear its slow outro, it’ll be tough to forget it. “Abyss Behind My Gaze” is another totally non-typical sounding track, w/ an almost oriental sounding main riff, and again branching off into a very thoughtful family tree of hooks and leads. Production is far from top notch but isn’t anywhere near shit, either. The sound they achieved w/ guitars, vox, and cymbal-work are quality and work extremely well for this band. Drums & bass need a little fine tuning in my opinion to get the perfect sound for D&Q. Some may say this band sounds too much like Immolation. I think they’ve definitely got their similarities but Drawn & Quartered has not ripped them off by any means. What they do they do very well and these goons know how to write standout songs. Their music no doubt transcends their “image” if you will, that being what I thought was another Sik Fuk. I will be listening to this many more times and I suggest people give this band a shot. Absolutely the biggest surprise this year.

Release Details

Drawn And Quartered

Extermination Revelry

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