From Bandcamp, “Formed in Denmark in 2015, LIFESICK delivers brutally honest songs inspired by life's turbulence. Influenced by Swedish death metal, their music combines crushing tones and modern breakdowns, forging an uncompromising sound.” The album has ten songs, and “Death Wish” is first. The bottom end of the music is indeed very heavy, distorted, and even dirty, and it kicks up clouds of thick dust. The vocals are sung more in the style of Hardcore than anything else, although the music is rooted in Death Metal. “Peace Through Superior Firepower” has a similar pace and sound, and therein lies one of the issues with this vocal style. The boundaries are so narrow and unforgiving, so many the songs end up sounding similar.

“Hollow Treats” has an even heavier bottom end but the shouted vocals overshadow much of the music. Sure, the breakdowns are brutal and the music quite uncompromising, but to be honest, I expected a little more from a Metal Blade artist. “Legacy of Misery” is yet another punishing song and the first half of the album is bleeding together. The pig squeals are also a feature from yesteryear that has run its course in my opinion. “Poems for My Funeral” has a very slow grind and is filthy through and through. But the main riff uses the low E chord as its base often and is just something that I have heard before. “Loved by None” has a similar sound and pace, and at this point, it’s pretty clear that the band has no intention of diversifying their sound. “The Mourning March” is more of the same, unfortunately.

“Straight Jacket” closes the album, and it’s another uncompromising sound but very similar to the others. This is neither here nor there, but I hear mostly Hardcore music from this band, albeit with some of the music rooted in Death Metal. My biggest concern, besides the vocal style (and that’s a matter of taste after all), is that many of the songs sounded too similar to one another. Did the band succeed at a crushing sound? Absolutely. Beyond that? Not too much.