DEATHING was founded in Valkeakoski, Finland back in 2014. They play Death Metal and although their style is influenced by bands from the eighties and nineties, they have a lot of diversity in their sound resulting in a mix of classical and modern elements of Death Metal. Active since 2014, it took them a while to release their debut EP "All Hail The Decay" via Inverse Records, a local label specialized primarily in metal. "All Hail The Decay" consists of 5 songs including an AT THE GATES cover with a total length of approximately 16 minutes.

The first two songs "Kings Of Terror" and "Crash And Burn" have everything you would expect from a Death Metal band: fast and aggressive guitar riffs, hammering bass and drums, intense double-bass drumming, and growling vocals. DEATHING, however, provides more than that. They nicely mix up tempo from high speed to mid-tempo as in "Kings Of Terror" and Marko Mäkinen is able to vary the vocals if the song structure requires it. "Crash And Burn" is a good example of very diverse vocals, changes in tempo, catchy and heavy guitar riffs, excellent bass play and drumming. Check out their video for "Crash And Burn" with the link given below. "Dead World Alive" follows the same pattern laid out by the preceding songs, although it has a bit more melodic guitar and vocal elements. Opposite to that is "Sickness", a 1:40 minutes steam hammer with blisteringly fast drums, smashing guitars, brutal growls and screams. The most aggressive track on "All Hail The Decay". After listening to DEATHING's new material, it seemed fitting that they cover "Blinded By Fear", an AT THE GATES classic from "Slaughter Of The Soul" album. DEATHING's version is very close to the original, technically well performed and produced.

"All Hail The Decay" is a debut EP that clearly follows known pathways of classical Death Metal with some modern elements. DEATHING uses an often proven formula with a blend of medium to fast guitar rhythms including melodic elements, crashing bass, and predominantly growling vocals. They add some variation to the mix, especially the range in vocals add something extra to the formula. "Crash And Burn" and "All Hail The Decay" are my clear favorites of this release. "All Hail The Decay" is very well produced and the songwriting is excellent throughout. Although DEATHING do not enter groundbreaking new territory with their approach to Death Metal, they clearly set a mark with "All Hail The Decay". They are a band to watch and Death Metal fans should look forward to more new material from them.