Lista de los grupos Melodic Death Survivors Zero CMXCIX

“A band that’s main goal is to deliver quality brutal modern death metal with a melodic edge.”Oh yes! This statement, taken from the band’s site, could end this review here! This is exactly what the listeners will come face to face with, after they press ‘play’….and is it done well then? Oh, you bet it is!

Survivors Zero is a fairly new Finnish Death metal band, and “CMXCIX” is their first album after a demo. The ‘fairly new’ label goes, of course, to the band itself, as the musicians that participate have quite a bio in other (mostly Finnish) bands. This is an album made by experienced musicians and every detail of this release proves that. Musically, Death metal is the area they thrive in. It is fast, furious, aggressive, heavy. On the other side, they don’t try to create noise as this effort is full of melody. Are -early-Dark Tranquility not melodic? Are Amon Amarth not heavy? “CMXCIX” has the production, the mix, the craftsmanship and the guts to bring together the ugliness of ferocity and the beauty of skillful solos and breaks. If the starting riff of ‘Armageddon Cult’ hasn’t been stolen from someone else, then someone will soon start stealing it from them! The songs follow a certain pattern and I couldn’t spot an oddity here. There are the -mandatory- Slayer touches in rhythm and arrangements, nice solos growing under the sun of Maiden-Priest, a bass that’s there for a reason and drums that do much more than just keeping the pace. The vocals, every now and then, slip into Black metal territories darkening the atmosphere leading the songs to an evil mood. Not that the whole aura lacks any ‘Lucifers’ or ‘Infernos’ of course!

The running time of the majority of the songs is less than 4 minutes each , a good thing for such kind of music as it doesn’t allow the songs to become boring by getting lost in labyrinthine arrangements; instead, it helps them to be straightforward and hit their target by incorporating all necessary changes in definite time. Not all tracks here are of the same pace. Although there aren’t any extremes, such as grind or slow moments, there is a variety throughout the album as brutality and melody battle each other. All in all, I pretty much enjoyed this CD. OK, they aren’t breaking any new ground, but they deliver 40 minutes of quality Death metal, in the most professional way possible. Whether one wishes to headbang to it, or just listen to its melodies, Survivors Zero’s debut delivers! Nice.

18/20