ILLDISPOSED have been right at the top of all things death metal for a staggering 25 years with the release of this, their latest album "Grey Sky Over Black Town". Forming in 1991, they quickly established themselves as a unique form of death metal that despite having those intense rage filled vocals and blast beats, they also seem to have a certain special groove to their riffs which is what sets them apart from the pack. This is their 14^th full length studio album in their 25 years, and it shows that ILLDISPOSED somehow manage to stay relevant and special after so long, while also sticking to their roots and remaining true to what makes them special.

It's hard to pick exactly where in the death metal scene these old boys from Denmark quite fit. Most fans of extreme forms of metal will be well aware of who they are, but it seems like they have also flown under the radar as far as major exposure goes. This is what baffles me as it truly feels like a band with this much experience, skill, and variety should be pushed to the front of the genre far more forcefully than they have been. As I mentioned earlier, they have that special groove which actually makes their brand of death metal unique and almost steering in to the melo-death sub-genre that I, personally, am a huge fan of. Rather than just being loud and aggressive without any real melody or direction as so many bands tend to do, ILLDISPOSED make their form of aggression somewhat fun, and at times technically beautiful and impressive.

"Grey Sky Over Black Town" gives us more of what we have come to expect from ILLDISPOSED with the incredibly powerful vocals of Bo Summer, the intense groovy riffs of Jakob Hansen and Ken Holst, the rapid hammering bass of Onkel K. Jensen, and the constant blast beats and almost ridiculous speed of Rasmus Schmidt on drums. This is what we want from the guys, and this is exactly what they give us. There are a few tracks that stand out from the lot, with "Your Darkest Son" being my personal favourite as it veers in to the dark with its haunting melody and massive amount of power. This is Bo Summer doing what he does best on vocals, and it's everything that death metal should be. "My Flesh Is Sealed" initially made me think the album had finished and something different had come on as it starts off with a piano. It sets the stage for the song perfectly and makes it even more intense and jarring when those vocals and the brutal riffs start up. Speaking of the darkness that "Your Darkest Son" had, this is amped up and made far darker and more inspired by black metal in "You're An Angel Of The Light". Everything about this track is dark and creepy with the echoing distorted vocals, the dark and sombre melody, and even the subject matter takes what would often be beautiful in other genres, and turns it on its head making it completely creepy.

Ok so now the downsides. Despite my previous raving, there are a few issues with this album. First of those being a problem that often occurs in death metal. While ILLDISPOSED do manage to stick out from the rest, they still suffer from the issue that while the music may be great while you are listening to it, it's not overly memorable. This isn't necessarily an issue with the band themselves, just that so much death metal has a problem with being memorable. The other issue is that, despite around half of the songs on the album being incredible displays of power and prowess, the other half fall flat in inspiration and while feeling powerful, they also feel a little tired and like it may be getting to a point where ILLDISPOSED are going through the motions. This really isn't much of a let-down however, as like I said, half of the album is pretty much incredible. Half an album being this good, is a whole lot better than a lot of the other stuff that comes out.

ILLDISPOSED have done it again with "Grey Sky Over Black Town", with a powerful album that reminds us all what makes the band so special. While it's let down in a few places, it's a great example of that death metal brutality mixed with a little bit of a fun groove to keep people coming back to listen to whatever it is that the band has to offer us next. Here's to another 25 years.

/10
/10
/10
/10