RED DEAD – Forest of Chaos
- Posted on 06-05-2020
I recall reviewing the “Sons of Red Visions” three-way split CD a while back, which contained a number of songs by the French death metal combo Red Dead, but what I have here is nothing less than a full-length assault by the aforementioned act containing twelve crushing tracks.
These hyper-aggressive death/thrashing maniacs dabble in bombastic and relatively straightforward old-school metal, which means simple song structures, catchy riffs, guttural vocals that mean you harm, and a real solid groove. This rotten musical entity brings nothing new to the table as such, but I can live with that as their tunes are memorable and pack a lot of punch. On top of that, things sound pretty damn massive at times and there are some cool twists and turns here and there. There are some interesting textures and heaps of atmosphere to the compositions, but the strength of the record lies in the quality of the riffs and them being so goddamn infectious. A few of the compositions fall by the wayside and lack depth and charisma, which is to say that they are more or less forgettable, but fortunately, the majority of cuts possess plenty of hooks and staying power.
Ultimately, one could argue that “Forest of Chaos” is entertaining and well-crafted rather than remarkable or outstanding, but that does not mean that this is not a cool disc, because listening to it is definitely a lot of morbid fun. Regardless of whether you are into Vader or Obituary (or maybe even Gorelord and Benediction for that matter), “Forest of Chaos” might just appeal to your delicate senses if you dig loud death metal that revels in blood, guts, and zombies.