Brutiful_ViXn
Reign In Metal
Zodiac :  Metal Reputation : 88
Join date : 2012-01-05
Location : Vacationing in Hell
 | |  Death SS - Resurrection (2013) Album Review | |
Death SS - Resurrection (2013)
Lucifer Rising/Scarlet Records -- Running Time 59:41
All I can say is I must have had my head stuck way too far in the sand to have not heard of Italian 'Horror Metal' band Death SS before. Initially formed in 1977 by vocalist and driving force 'Steve Sylvester' (hence the SS in the band name) and having released their first studio album in 1988, I feel like they really should have crossed my path before, and if eighth album 'Resurrection' is anything to go by I have been missing out big time. Granted, they haven't been a constant presence (this is their first album for seven years), there have been lots of lineup changes and they have never achieved the more widespread success they deserve, but still, eight studio albums, live albums, demos and a plethora of EP's and singles speak for themselves. At least I have now been granted the pleasure of listening to them and 'Resurrection' is a stomping beast of an album, that for a horror freak like me ticks absolutely every single box!
'Resurrection' contains a myriad of styles and influences; Metal, Rock, Industrial. Goth, Doom and Electronica all play a big part and if you mixed Alice Cooper, Samael, Lordi, Murderdolls and Rob Halford's projects 2wo and Fight together then you would be somewhere near what Death SS sound like. They have always been inspired by horror and occultism and considering when they were first formed could almost be seen as pioneers of the 'Horror Metal' genre. This time around Sylvester has also been inspired by his love of 1970's Italian sex/horror comics and in keeping with that theme renowned painter 'Emanuele Taglietti', who worked on many of those titles has provided beautiful cover and booklet artwork for 'Resurrection'. Sylvester (The Vampire), who has also done a great production on the album, is joined by 'Freddy Delirio' (The Phantom) on keyboards, 'Glenn Strange' (The Mummy) on bass, 'Al Denoble' (The Zombie) on guitars and 'Bozo Wolff' (The Werewolf) on drums and together they have crafted an album full of very catchy anthems. 'The Darkest Night', 'Eaters', 'Ogre's Lullaby', 'Precognition' and 'Bad Luck' should have you snapping your neck pretty quickly and when you cannot move that then snap something else instead!
If you're not familiar with the comics that Sylvester is inspired by, then think of the Italian Horror and Giallo films of the 1970's and 80's by directors such as 'Lucio Fulci', 'Mario Bava' and 'Dario Argento' etc and then put a great metal/rock soundtrack to them, rather than some of the very cheesy electronic music that was included on the original film soundtracks, and personally that's how I see Death SS. 'Resurrection' is spooky, evil, demonic but it's also damn good fun and a very enjoyable listen. I'm still angry I've never heard of these guys before but over the coming weeks I fully intend to eagerly seek out the earlier albums of Death SS to make up for lost time!
https://www.facebook.com/DeathSSofficial
http://www.deathss.com
http://www.scarletrecords.it
http://www.self.it/ita/etic.php?eti=LUCI
Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley: www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351
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