Review by Carl on January 9, 2024.

Rape Pillage And Burn, it's what happens when you bring together members of Dismember and the awesome Divine Eve. Releasing only this sturdy EP, and then vanishing into nothingness, unfortunately leaving the name to fall into obscurity. Which is a bleeding shame, really, because this is not to be sniffed at.

Taking into account the people involved and the resumes they carry, it will probably not surprise anyone that this unholy union resulted in an outfit that plays old school death metal, completely made by grandma's recipe. And in this case, that grandma spoken of is none other than Tom Warrior himself, because this has Hellhammer DNA sloshing around everywhere.

Rape Pillage and Burn fits in snugly between other acts delivering steel-plated, traditional death metal such as Pentacle, Funeral Nation, Cianide and of course Divine Eve. Influenced by the earliest progenitors of the genre such as the already mentioned Hellhammer (and Celtic Frost), but feel free to add the names of NME, Venom and Slaughter as well, because they all left some traces in there. The band has built their sound on a foundation of jagged primitive hammering riffs underpinned by an equally no-frills pounding percussive approach, completely devoid of technical wank or progressive leanings whatsoever. The band takes the blunt approach to their music, and while being uptempo for most part, they never go super fast, primarily keeping to a simple sturdy beat driving the music forward. On top of this approach comes the raw-throated growling voice of Michael A. Sleavin, who manages to combine the sound of Venom's Cronos with that of Chris Reifert of Autopsy, providing heaps of old school vibes throughout. It's not all caveman death metal pounding here, though. Maybe it's because of the presence here of Richard Cabeza, but I did pick up on some Dismember and Unleashed touches in some of the riffing at times, alleviating the straight-forward stomp somewhat with a touch of Swedeath riffing here and there. In the context of the unrelenting old school death metal-isms the band showcases during the runtime of this EP, this adds a cool edge to proceedings, fitting in well with the rest of the music. In the album closer "With Venomous Tongues" the foot goes off the accelerator completely, letting an Autopsy vibe creep in that moves along at a geriatric snail's pace, leaving slimy trails everywhere. Yeah, these guys know how to old school death metal, no doubt about that.

But there is some left to desire, unfortunately. While not a disaster, it's a shame that the production is kinda flaccid. Music of this kind needs a powerful sound to it, think of how a lot of Cianide's work sounds, but that is just not in the cards here. While certainly evenly balanced out, the guitars and percussion sound pretty weak, as if played with only half power. There's just very little strength to them, which drains a portion of the power from the otherwise great music. Something you can also hear in the guitar leads, they are simply present, adequate but simply sounding way too nice and friendly for music as stomping as this.

Despite the kinda lacklustre production, this is still a damn solid offering of ye olde schoole death metal, but what else was there to expect from individuals with credentials such as this? I hope these guys will converge again at some time and place, because this EP should get a follow-up, and preferably one with a less sterile, more lively production than this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10