### Stench: In putrescence

#### 22/11/10 || revenant

I will admit that we, the talent of this marvelous site, can be a bunch of sooky bitches at times. “This label send sucks” or “I don’t want to listen to some random album, I want to listen to my favourite bands”. Yeah, we do wade through crap at times, but not always. Occasionally sifting wheat from the chaff can have it’s pleasures, especially when you get the opportunity to tell everyone out about a genuinely worthwhile find. This is one of those occasions.

Stench is another one of the gazillion-odd death metal band hailing from Sweden. It features members of Tribulation (a band which Habakuk rightfully recommended I check out), which was the reason I grabbed this one for a review. But rather than being another Tribulation, with it’s thrash/death crossover goodness, this is a different beast altogether. This is a harrowing, deathly album reminiscent of early At the Gates material.

Now I’ve probably made quite a statement in the previous paragraph by comparing this band to one of Sweden’s finest but damn, I can’t shake the comparison from my mind whenever I play this album. If you’re a big fan of early At the Gates, just take my word for it, not worry about the rest of the review and go to their MySpace and check their shit out already. Do it.

Right, now that those cunts have gone, how about I get on the review for the rest of you sons of whores, eh?

I have to admit I’m not a massive fan of the At the Gates catalogue of work outside of “Slaughter of the Soul”, but the things I do find great about their early work (the harrowing atmosphere, the chilling vocal performance, the precision musicianship) Stench replicate well in their debut. The vocals aren’t a complete Limberg copy, but the high pitched, haunting growls do their job well and provide the perfect accompaniment to the music. They are tormented and pained in their delivery, and without a doubt hit the mark. The musicianship, too, is a high quality. The playing is tighter than a mermaid’s twat and a sheer fucking pleasure to listen to.

If I were to come up with a grievance with the album, it would be the production. While I’ve noted repeatedly the similarities in style to early At the Gates, it should be said the production sounds like it comes from the same era. True, I wouldn’t expect a band with a name like Stench to have the cleanest production sound, but it just doesn’t sound modern. Kudos, though, on the bass, which is beautifully clear.

So when all is said and done, this is a pretty damn decent record. It doesn’t give me a rock hard boner of gargantuan proportions, but does the job in it’s own way. The two Tribulation boys who also worked on this project are definitely new talents to keep an eye out for. From what I’ve heard from them to date, two worthwhile albums out of two releases. Not a bad start, fuckos.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Agonia Records
- Website: Stench MySpace
- Band
- Micke: vocals
- Jonathan: guitars
- Jonka: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. The Blackness
- 02. Face of Death
- 03. Ghosts
- 04. Breath of the Rottenness
- 05. The Fire
- 06. Crimson Hills
- 07. Drenched in the Light
- 08. The ones who Rot