WRATHRONE – Born Beneath
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 06-02-2016
Finnish death metal that straddles a lot of the musical finesse and rock aspects of Scandinavian heritage and then the sheer brutality and aggression associated with American bands – welcome to the world of Wrathrone. Their debut full-length "Born Beneath" contains 8 songs and 33 minutes of viciousness, guttural vocals and screams in the Six Feet Under/ Torture Killer vein while guitar trills and a deep bass tone carry the bulk of the catchiness for "Age of Decadence" and "Dead End".
Singer Matti Vehmas will be the make or break element for Wrathone’s appeal to the death audience. He certainly loves the Chris Barnes-style delivery – which may work for faster material like "Eternal Salvation" but comes off very amateurish on the slower, follow up "Failing Flesh, Enduring Spirit". Being decipherable and evil is a tough combination to pull off convincingly, and as such "Born Beneath" ends up being musically more satisfying than vocally.
If you love Obituary with old Finnish death charm, Wrathrone may be in your wheelhouse.