Somewhere subconsciously I remember a previous Cerekloth short release to be passing through my desk, but I recall somehow not giving any listening time to Halo of Syringes. Big mistake, and not to be repeated for the new full-length by these Danes In the Midst of Life We Are in Death. This release, if anything, is a testament to one simple axiom. Death metal does not have to be all about pummels and barrages and blasting. It can come in many different ways. Cerekloth idea of the genre is to drag you through eerie dense oppression, pace almost plodding, unhurried, while inflicting maximum pain. Imagine not being pulverized by a firing squad, but dying slowly, via crucifixion, hung to the cross. It hurts just the same, and actually more.

The main weapon of Cerekloth on In the Midst of Life We Are in Death is burly manly riffs and constantly bending disharmonic notes surrounding them. Double bass drumming is present here (Born of the Void), but the trend is not prevalent. Instead at the forefront we have guitars, sounding like siren alarms, keeping the distortion on (Halo of Syringes), sounding ominous, twisted, and almost sadistic. The subtle use of melodies in this slow plowing monster is unexpected, and, therefore, even more rewarding. Within the Hollow Crown and Mesmerizing Holy Death incorporate convoluted leads merging the Cerekloth sound closer to the Dutch God Dethroned territory, but there is definitely something more primal, old Death and Obituary in this album. When Outcast Become Kings provides a rare burst of speed, but the band does not forget about their trademark bending melodies, and those ultimately win in the end. Jens Pedersen is the perfect vocalist for this band, since he is not only about deep bellows. When he goes high, he is actually legible, not a gurgling toad, and those caustic cleaner passages only exacerbate the torture.

Expertly and deftly produced, the sound of Cerekloth, even when it is progressing from the funeral doom pace of The Reapers Instant is Our Eternity, is all encompassing, so you don’t notice the long duration for these songs. The slow does not mean boring on the album. Death (or is it suicide?) on In the Midst of Life We Are in Death is not delivered with the joke, it is not light-hearted, not Sentenced-like. Instead, there is a smirk and contempt in the eyes of this beast. It wants to brood alone, it doesn’t want you to be here observing its inner suffering, and, really, you don’t want to be there either, as it gives rise to all of that negativity you pushed deep down inside. Not an album to be cleansed with, In the Midst of Life We Are in Death will only wind the pent up emotion pushing you closer to the trigger.