ENDSEEKER hailing from Hamburg, Germany were formed in 2014. The Death Metal outfit released three full-length albums and one EP so far. The new release “Global Worming” was produced, mixed, and mastered by Eike Freese (GAMMA RAY; WARKINGS; WARPATH) at Hammer Studios in Germany. The album has a length of about 40 minutes, and it is released via Californian extreme Metal specialists Metal Blade Records.

The album starts with the title song, and it has a strong start. “Global Worming” has all that what makes an excellent traditional Death Metal song: pace, aggression, crushing guitar riffing, and growling vocals straight from the abyss. The growls vary around the medium end of the guttural range. It also has the typical Swedish Death Metal mixture of fast and mid-tempo parts with switches between fast verse parts and mid-tempo chorus parts including a mid-tempo break. “Hell Is Here” starts with an extended instrumental part with grim melodies leading into the verse part at a measured tempo and head-banging rhythm. The riffing is thunderous, while the melodies for the chorus parts have some melancholic and doomy vibes. The break switches to mid-tempo leading into a technically simple but contributing lead guitar solo. “Hell Is Here” is a real banger as also the vocals fit perfectly to the track. The song has been released as video, and the YouTube link is provided below. “Violence Is Gold” goes back to the fast hammering of the opening track with a lot of Swedish Death Metal vibes. The classical tempo twists between verse and chorus parts are the focal point of the track, where the chorus melodies are spine-chilling and maintain the Doom Metal vibes from the preceding track.

“Wheel Of Torture” starts with the devastating chainsaw sound of the guitars transitioning into track at a slow pace with a few oriental vibes in the melodies. There are multiple twists in tempo starting from the slow pace during the verse parts, via a measured tempo during the bridges, towards mid-tempo chorus parts. The melodies are spine-chilling for most parts of the track. “C.B.V.” is a powerful mid-tempo track with crushing riffing and a lot of lead guitar contributions. Markus Grasselt delivers additional vocals for the chorus vocal lines, which intensifies the darkness of the track. “Terror” starts with a short atmospheric pre-lude, transitioning into the mid-track with the vocals joining in right from the start. It is another track where the chainsaw sound of the guitars is very prominent. The melodic framework of the track is blood-freezing, and the track is one of the few including an extended lead guitar solo. All lead guitar solos on the album are not very technical but perfectly fit into the tracks.

“Hanging Gardens” continues with the Death Metal assault at mid-tempo. It is perhaps the catchiest song on the album (if that is the right term in Death Metal), with epic chorus melodies and almost sing-along vocal chorus lines. The melodies are doom-laden, especially duríng the chorus, and that sticks into the head. The track includes another very contributing lead guitar solo. After a few mid-tempo tracks in the middle part of the album, “Our Only Life” raises pace and intensity. The verse parts are played at blistering pace with flesh-ripping guitar riffing. While the tempo during the chorus part is nearly maintained, the track includes a classical short mid-tempo break, but without solo. The album finishes with “Nemesis” and it starts with a tension-building, atmospheric guitar-driven instrumental part with chilling melodies at a measured tempo, transitioning into the verse part at an almost stomping rhythm. The chorus parts have once again doomy features in the melodies. “Nemesis” has surely the darkest melodic framework of all album songs and the track is one of the album highlights.

The new album of ENDSEEKER is a very good Death Metal album. ENDSEEKER deliver traditional, Swedish inspired Death Metal with the typical chainsaw guitar sound at its base, and they are good in this. The mixture of fast, mid-tempo, and slower tracks is very well set up, keeping the album fresh and dynamic, although I would have loved to see a few more fast tracks on the album. The melodies are grim and doom-laden throughout the album, giving the listener a spine-chilling experience. The album is well produced. Traditional Death Metal fans, who love the Swedish sound will also love this album and look forward to when ENDSEEKER will destroy the stage with their new songs.