Review Summary: Agnostic Rituals
My stance on modern death metal has been pretty well documented so far. I mean, there’s a lot of great releases out there and while similar descriptors could be attached to almost any genre these last years, Transcending Obscurity has somehow found their fair share of beastly records. Godless Truth, born in the early nineties and in the Czech Republic are another act to grace that particular label and while their name doesn’t merit a larger discussion in terms of
great big acts of death metal bands, their newest,
self-titled effort does qualify among the year’s more solid releases, however destined it is to fall to the wayside of bigger, better releases. But that’s a bit unfair for yet another technical gracing our ear buds this decade.
It seems most of my issues with
Godless Truth come from oversaturation. While I distrust those who would readily speak for the masses (I am about to do that here), as listeners of music on the more extreme end of the bell curve we have had ample
excellent examples of modern death metal. Even as I daringly make assumptions for my readers I still feel the need to point out the Diskord’s, Ulcerate and Blood Incantation’s (naming a few of the few) of this world that continue to pave the way, push forwards and…overload metal fans with brilliant slabs of music. It’s because of this that Godless Truth’s 2022 effort will be met with considerable favourable adjectives without ascending to the same tier of
quality like the examples mentioned above.
Basically,
Godless Truth is a bop.
A short introductory “Wheels Of Entity” allows for some momentous build of atmosphere and yet whatever clear brutality that follows in the form of “The Decision” is washed away by another instrumental. Which is weird right? The album hasn’t insofar warranted another break. It’s like stunting the growth of a child, just days after birth only to start the process soon thereafter. “Glory To Desperation” is exactly that. A second start within a project only thirty-three minutes in length. Moving on, it’s clear that Godless Truth’s main stay, it’s main power is blasting cacophony in the general direction of death metal lovers and in essence,
Godless Truth is a hive-mind of groove-based riffs, heavy everything-isms and a dichotomy of growls and shrieks.
The typical death attack of “Scissors” earmarks what listeners are to expect from a new Godless Truth record. “Breathe Fire” and “Fortune Time” are equally blistering, while also providing enough room for some of the band’s more flamboyant chops and as such, the drumming is of particular note. Sure, the meat and bones of it is the blasting of kicks, snares and the
tap-tap-tap of that ever-present ride cymbal—but there are endless samples of fills and tasty stick work that dances over the end of the central musical ideas. By the time you notice the intricacies of the percussion, you also notice some of the string wizardry. Solos pepper the record’s length, but it’s the bass presence that rumbles and pops, cementing the framework of guitars, vocals and drums.
Still, I can’t help but notice that
Godless Truth simply ticks a lot of boxes on its thirty-three minute journey. I want to throw a pot full of spaghetti like praise at a wall and see what sticks, but mostly I’m just enjoying the rolling boil of the water. Even the album’s deeper cuts maintain a stock-standard of agreeable death metal. “The Eyechain” and “RIP Cage” continue the self-titled album’s ever-present trajectory, right up until the final track where Godless Truth manage to slow things down in the riff department and really manage to sink some chords in. That’s not to say that “Wake Up To Obey” shakes up the formula that precludes it. Rather, it keeps the themes, atmosphere and virtuosity and with that thought in mind, allows its ideas to express themselves instead of being quashed under a wall of death metal madness. Even as I bring all of this to a close I obviously find
Godless Truth enjoyable. Its parts are an excellent summation of the death metal genre, encompassing all the brutality, technicality and clear production values that modern death metal is becoming increasingly known for. But for all the praise,
Godless Truth doesn’t transcend the niceties, doesn’t surpass the peers sitting at the pinnacle of this ever-expanding genre. What it does do however, it speaks truthfully, about things that are godless.
