CADAVER hailing from Norway were formed in 1988. The Death Metal outfit were active with several interruptions with founding member Neddo being the only member constantly in the band. The sixth full-length album “The Age Of The Offended” was produced, mixed and mastered by Adair Daufembach (CLAUSTROFOBIA; HANGAR; SEMBLANT). It has a length of about 43 minutes, and it was released via German Metal specialists Nuclear Blast.

The album starts with the atmospheric, guitar-driven intro “Orphant’s Swing” transitioning into the mid-tempo “Postapocalyptic Grindling” which has many Black Metal vibes. It is a mixture of a dark atmospheric sound and short episodes of brutal hammering, driven by the blast-beat outbursts. The growling vocals range between the medium and higher end of the guttural range. “Scum Of The Earth” starts with a short drum intro. It is a fast song with direct and aggressive guitar riffing, and it is driven by the vocals, which are harsh, but not the classical Death Metal growls. The track has a few Punk inspirations during the verse parts and Neddo implements them very smartly in his vocals. The verse parts are abruptly followed by the hammering chorus parts. The title track offers spine-chilling melodies at mid-tempo, intensified by the background sound. It is a mid-tempo song for most of the time with complexity in the riffing and with versatile growling vocals. The break for the short lead guitar solo is blisteringly fast and it comes without transition. “The Age Of The Offended” is arguably one of the album highlights, and it is no surprise that the track has been released as video with the YouTube link provided below.

“Death Revealed” is a strong and powerful song with aggression in the riffing and the vocals. The track is a mixture of mid-tempo and up-tempo and direct riffing with constant changes in tempo and rhythm. The lead guitars provide a dark atmosphere. Highlights are the vocals, which transport the gloomy atmosphere expertly to the listener. “Death Revealed” is one of the best songs of the album. “The Shrink” starts with thunderous riffing at a measured, head-banging pace. While the verse and chorus parts are very simple and short, the break has more complexity and rhythm changes where the extended lead guitar solo is the highlight of the track. “Crawl Of The Cadaver” continues with the darkness in melodies and starts with a similar tempo as the preceding track. However, there is a lot of complexity in the song textures with many tempo and rhythm changes. The break is played at fast pace and has many Thrash Metal vibes. Highlight of the track is the versatile drumming of Dirk Verbeuren.

“The Drowning Man” is another song with blood-freezing melodies at a measured tempo for most of the time. However, it comes also with seamless transitions into short episodes of brutal hammerings at blistering pace. It is the mixture of aggression and darkness, which makes “The Drowning Man” to an album highlight. “The Sicker, The Better” is a merciless pummeling of the listener. It starts with a blast-beat attack and those short hammerings drive the track forward. The rest of the track is the typical CADAVER sound: the combination of aggressive riffing and vocals. “Dissolving Chaos” is one of the more complex songs in riffing and texture. There are many twists in rhythm, which makes it a bit difficult to listen too. It is a down-tempo track but with a few faster parts.

“Deadly Metal” is perhaps a counterpart to “Dissolving Chaos” as it is fast, direct, has a certain catchiness in the riffing, and a few Thrash Metal vibes. The riffing is tight, and the song structure is simple with the classical verse/chorus/break sequence. The break leads into an extended lead guitar solo, which is the highlight of the track. “The Craving” is another fast track and continues with the sound of “Deadly Metal”. The main difference between both is that “The Craving” is a brutal pummeling for most of the time including the blast-beat and double-bass attacks. The album finishes with “Freezing Isolation”, and this is another mixture of chilling atmospheric parts interrupted by brutal hammerings driven by the blast-beats. The track closes with a dark, atmospheric lead guitar solo. It is a great way to finish the album.

CADAVER deliver an album that is a mixture of many styles and influences. “The Age Of The Offended” contains Death, Black, and Thrash Metal elements as well as a few Punk vibes. CADAVER understand it perfectly to mix those elements together to a spine-chilling and aggressive, but also versatile album sound. It is this versatility and a certain unpredictability, which keeps the listener on their toes and is evidence for excellent songwriting. The album is very well produced. “The Age Of The Offended” is one of those albums, which will be loved by those Death Metal fans, who do not care about crossing genre boundaries.