Review by Carl on April 12, 2025.

Allow me to bring to your attention: "Damn Goat", the second offering of Morbid Macabre, the side project of Masacre vocalist Alex Okendo. Primarily serving as a tribute to the South American death/thrash/black metal scene of old, you don't need me to tell you what the deal is here, let's just say that there aren't any prices for guessing what this is going to sound like.

Being the tribute it is to acts such as Sextrash, Vulcano, Calvary Death and of course Sarcofago, it will not come as a surprise that the music comes charging out of the gates in a primarily hammering rapid-fire attack, where frenzied blast beats, roaring vocals and simple yet effective chainsaw guitar riffing form the main ingredients. Everything rages on with seething malevolence for a big chunk of the music, but it would sell the band short to just write them off as purely a one-dimensional Sarcofago rip-off. Turns out, there's a bit more to their sound than that. In the relentlessly grinding tremolo picking there are traces of 90's black metal noticeable, think of bands such as Dark Funeral, Impaled Nazarene, and Enthroned on their early albums, and these elements somewhat alleviate the raw blackened death metal riffing that Morbid Macabre utilizes for a big part here. Yes, this is a battering dose of speed-drenched vitriol indeed, but amidst the punishing velocity that drives forth the track,s there is also room for slower stomp in the proud tradition of Celtic Frost/Hellhammer or Winter, establishing a good dose of variation, doing this without sacrificing any intensity whatsoever. This is a highly charged offering of old-school extremity, poured into sharp and straight-forward compositions that rely most on impact and aggression than anything else.

Although there aren't a lot of things that bothered me on this slab of atavistic primitivism, I could have done without the high shrieks that pop up regularly. You no doubt know what I mean here, the kind of high-pitched screams used in the 80s by Schmier of Destruction or Tom Araya before he became a tired old bore. These lend the music a speed metal touch that I certainly can appreciate, but the band employs it so often that it started to slightly grate my nerves towards the end. Apart from that small gripe, I'd say that Morbid Macabre absolutely nailed it here.

Production-wise this isn't to be sniffed at either. The music sounds powerful and especially convincing throughout, with starring roles for the guitars and vocals that are placed well in front of the music. The percussion has to take its place somewhat behind these two, but when viewed in its totality I have to admit that this is an approach that works very well. The music batters, rips, and roars, and that is exactly the way I want to hear this kind of stuff.

On this offering, Morbid Macabre easily surpasses their debut album, with a better, more powerful sound, as well as taking a good step forward in both music and compositions. This is a blast of sonic violence that I would (and will) totally recommend to those into Impiety, Zygoatsis, Sacrocuse, Anal Vomit, and others in the same vein because that wis hat Alex and his crew of troublemakers offer up here can easily compete with those acts mentioned.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Nathan on February 28, 2024.

While I don't think anyone is considering the German scene to be their personal favorite, it's easily the most consistent scene out there, which is no small feat consider it's a markedly bigger country than, say, Poland. There's a lot more opportunity for generic bands to suck. However, I find it almost works out in the complete opposite way, because generic metal in Germany has assembly line levels of efficiency. I dunno if it's just because Rammstein is considered radio rock there, but there's a level of professionalism and dedication that you see in a band like Dauþuz that just isn't there in other local scenes. I dunno if it's just that the German miner lyrical theme adds a degree of "serious business" to the mix, but if this is bargain bin black metal in Germany, fuck, I should move to Germany.

Here's a little rundown if you're unfamiliar with this band (as I was prior to checking out this album). This is black metal that sometimes takes influence from more niche genres (the screams suggest a DSBM influence, while the prominent sense of melody can give off Pagan/folk vibes), but is otherwise straightforward. The drums have a simplistic, almost punk rock feel to them, which is already common in black metal – it's very reminiscent of a more European, slightly expanded version of El-Ahrairah's eponymous album when the drums fall back into a standard rock beat. The vocals are mostly a hollow, screechy howl, with some clean backups and double-ups sprinkled in there on occasion. It's not quite friendly enough to be classified as folk/black or melodic black, but it comes close. A slightly less upbeat Sargeist is a somewhat accurate comparison if you take the regional differences into account.

The building blocks Dauþuz uses are as generic as they come, as you can see, but they songs are arranged in a way that makes them memorable. This is a perfect example of a band not needing to reinvent the wheel because they've already got their formula down. The only thing that you can really do to improve is build on the chemistry you have, and Dauþuz recognizes this with Monvmentvm. They're sticking with the same themes and trimming the fat, and also try to create unique arrangements within the template they already have. 'Der Bergschmied' has a super cool harsh-vocal-over-clean-guitar part at the end that a lot of bands try but few can make work effectively. Because they've been hammering away at the style for a few albums now, Dauþuz knows what kinds of risks they can take within the songs, and they've also done a really good job of eliminating unnecessary filler riffs on Monvmentvm. Even the longer 8-9 minute songs don't drag. No sections ever sound like they're ill-fitting and they never repeat riffs for too long, which is significant in a genre that is supposed to be raw and minimalistic. Even the acoustic guitar passages, which usually function as little more than hokey interludes, do a lot to solidify the atmosphere and pace of this album. Nothing about Monvmentvm is different from the tens of thousands of other black metal albums out there, Dauþuz just takes a bit more time and care when they're composing, and the small investment pays big dividends. Although this is a 2019 release, the tight compositions and confident execution present makes it sound like these songs have been written for years.

Even as a black metal fan, it's possible Dauþuz flew under your radar. Naturmacht Productions has a somewhat insular family of bands, all content to dwell within their little German atmo-black circle. I can't say that Dauþuz stands out at all from that already-niche crowd, but that could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, because nothing stands out in a sore thumb-type way, either. This is just a very sleek, meat-and-potatoes kind of black metal album that chugs along like a carefully crafted and well-oiled machine. It's simple and melodic enough that the riffs will stick with you, and if you don't need a lot of extra garnishes in your black metal to be satisfied this will be right up your alley. At first, I was confused as to why a folk-tinged black metal album would choose German miners as a concept to base a band around, but it makes a lot more sense when you see the words I'm using to describe Dauþuz - they're steady, efficient, and more about substance over style. Not unlike a German laborer slowly plugging away in a mineshaft, a tinge of hope gleaming in his eyes as he searches for a rare gold nugget.

Rating: 8.3 out of 10