Artist: Sterbhaus
Title: Hits For Dead Kids
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
Release Date: 7th October 2011 (Germany)
Label: Phantom Domestic / North Lore
Album Review
STERBHAUS is back, and better than ever! With a new album up and kicking, ‘Hits For Dead Kids’ thrashes in good humour without wasting any of the ferocity of this Death Metal hybrid. Opening with the instrumental ‘Bajo Multa’, listeners can get a good sense of the kind of Thrash that this band is about to perform (it ranges between TESTAMENT and AT THE GATES by injecting a bit more melody than most would) with a solid growl to carry the vocals following on ‘Sinister Neckgrip’. Other tracks like ‘Chiliconcarnage and the Texmexecution’ are sure to bring laughs at how ridiculous the lyrics are, but the music makes up for silliness with good guitar rhythms that are more along the lines of mid paced thrash similar to that of SLAYER. However, at the same time, music like this can be slightly repetitive as the rhythms carry over and over again. ‘Aqualunch’ turns more to Death Metal with a faster pace and letting the vocals lead the charge, sometimes masking the guitars but letting the drums hammer through like a gun battery. ‘Goat Boat’ may come off as a surprise as it starts out slow and acoustic, but don’t expect any mercy as it picks up. However, it is probably the most diverse track on the album, especially on the vocal front. There are growls, snarls, shrieks, and ranting that again invokes STERHAUS’S humorous side so fans won’t be sure what to make of it, but it still rocks.
‘Lamplady’ brings back to the solid Thrash section with the usual churning sections, but it is ‘House of the Dead Dwarf’ that shows off STERBHAUS’ best qualities within the past few years they’ve been preparing this album. Here the band touches a bit on Deathcore with some segmented chugging riffs and takes their shrieks to ugly squeals similar to Grindcore; it’s not the most appealing to the ear hole but brings more diversity as opposed to the monotone of the single growl/ snarl. The music also lends a bit towards a mix between melodic black and death metal (without the symphonic parts of course) by keeping the guitars layered and almost performing two solos at once as opposed to just chugging along unanimously with a few good riffs. Overall, STERBAHAUS’S new album tries to keep to the formula that it has in the past, but with the line-up still in the works listeners will get the feeling that not everything is yet complete. The humorous titles and lyrics are fun to enjoy, but when mixed with Death Metal most people won’t understand it unless they read the lyrics or will pass it off as a joke if they want to take it seriously like a CANNIBAL CORPSE album. This is certainly more of a balanced line between amusing and honest, hard working metal as opposed to something like JEFF WALKER’S brief, but amusing ‘Welcome to Carcass Cuntry’ - a side project from the legendary CARCASS - but new fans might miss the punch line as opposed to those who have followed this band since their beginning.
Tracklist
01. Bajo Multa - 1:06
02. Sinister Neckgrip - 2:53
03. STD Für Alles- 4:10
04. Die Leatherman Die - 3:47
05. Chiliconcarnage and the Texmexecution- 3:03
06. Aqualunch - 2:35
07. Goat Boat - 2:03
08. Lamplady - 3:28
09. House of the Dead Dwarf - 3:53
Line-up
Marcus Hammarstrom - vocals/bass
Jimmy Ahovalli - lead/ rhythm guitar
Simon Olovsson - rhythm guitar
Victor Bingzelius - drums
Website
www.sterbhaus.org
Cover Picture
Rating
Sound: 6
Music: 5
Total: 5.5 / 10
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