People think of purity of the Metal genres, and it’s a gross mistake. No genre of Metal is ‘pure’ (and thanks for that, because such search for the ‘pure’ seems as something fascist/racist), because all of them are plenty of different influences from Metal, and even from other genres. On Death Metal, the main spine of the genre is the mix of aggressiveness and melodies of Metal with the crude and adrenalized appeal of Hardcore, both genres with tons of different influences. And on “Slaves of the Wolf”, the new full-length of the North American quintet BEAR MACE, more of them can be heard.

Sanford Parker (recording) and Damian Herring (mixing, mastering) worked with the band on the studio to help them to sharp the best sonority possible. And the result is something brutal and distorted (as Death Metal should sound), but defined and with excellent instrumental tunes. And the artwork of Dedy Badic (on the cover) and Mark Sugar (layout, design) fits on what is musically shown. The quintet works on a classic form of Death Metal (without being into an Old School Death Metal form), on something that bears the aggressiveness and brutality of the genre, and featuring the classic elements of the genre (fast tempos on the drums with the right support from bass guitar, oppressive guitar riffs and deafening death growls on the vocals), but in an updated form that fits on actual sonorities of the genre. It unleashes a massive and destructive form of music, with energy and personality.

As the album plays, some of the influences of Hardcore and Thrash Metal can be heard in the mix (and others as well, due some melodic care that appears in many moments), so the experience of dealing with “Slaves of the Wolf”, “Worthless Lives”, “Drown Them in Their Blood”, “The Iceman Cometh”, “Captured and Consumed” (with the guest vocals of Kam Lee), “Heretics Burn”, “Prophecy” and “Cancerous Winds” is something really good, so be prepared. “Slaves of the Wolf” is the band’s third full-length, then it’s clear that BEAR MACE has found its ways in Death Metal. And it’s a very good one, indeed.