### Miasmal: Cursed redeemer

#### 18/04/14 || gk

Led by guitarist and vocalist Pontus who also plays in Martyrdod and Agrimonia, Miasmal formed in 2007 and released their debut self titled full length in 2011. Coming as it did at the start of the whole new wave of old school the album was generally received quite well and was a solid piece of work that combined Swedish death metal with a crusty approach. Now, 3 years later the band is back with the follow up “Cursed redeemer” and things are slightly different in the Miasmal camp.

There’s more of a death-thrash vibe to this album than before and while the trademark Swedish death metal sound is intact, the band focus more on riffs and some pretty catchy grooves. Opener “Cursed redeemer” starts things nicely with a galloping riff and a solo that comes straight out of the blocks but then settles into a solid, heavy as fuck song. “Call of the revenant” has a killer riff halfway through that is just made for some serious headbanging and channels classic Dismember in the best possible way while “Whiskey train” is easily the catchiest song this band has yet written with a razor sharp thrash riff providing the initial momentum and the song finishes with a killer groove. Elsewhere on the album, “A veiled remembrance” benefits from a heavy bottom end and some more solid riffing while album closer “2013” unleashes some serious energy and weaves its way through a couple of killer riffs and tempo changes.

Pontus leads the charge here. His vocals can get a bit one dimensional after a while but the album doesn’t outstay its welcome so it’s a minor complaint. Along with 2nd guitarist Magnus, he turns in a solid performance and these 2 guitarists have plenty of cool ideas and a large supply of killer riffs. They’re also never afraid to solo. New drummer Björn from Agrimonia turns in a performance that is always in the background but provides a solid foundation for these songs at the same time.

Miasmal sounds pretty fucking tight on “Cursed redeemer”. I think the band has succeeded in combining modern death metal tropes with a decidedly old school feel and the quality of riffs on offer is consistently high. There’s nothing here that has not been done before but there’s something about Miasmal, the quality of their song writing and the consistency of their riffing that lifts “Cursed redeemer” above the average and makes it an album well worth checking out for fans of the genre.

- Information
- Released: 2014
- Label: Century Media
- Website: Miasmal Facebook
- Band
- Pontus: vocals, guitars
- Magnus: guitars
- Rick Ruben: bass
- Björn: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Cursed Redeemer
- 02. Call of the Revenant
- 03. Whiskey Train
- 04. Excelsior
- 05. A Veiled Remembrance
- 06. Until the Last
- 07. Frozen in Time
- 08. 2013