Laethora - The Light In Which We All Burn
The End Records
Death Metal
13 songs (42:15)
Release year: 2010
www.laethora.com, The End Records
Reviewed by Khelek

Formed relatively recently in 2005 by well-known Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin, Laethora seem to be on a quest to bring back the old school death metal style, but in a more modern way. 2007's March Of The Parasite was not an album that I found particularly good or bad, but a middle of the road attempt to recapture pure death metal. I enjoyed listening to it a few times but then put it aside. When I heard the guys were making another attempt this year I decided to check it out, hoping the band had matured over the past few years. Fortunately The Light In Which We All Burn will give you a good dose of raw, unadulterated death metal that, while not revolutionary, is both memorable and powerful.

The intro track Ekpyrosis is just some slow, creeping guitar to get you ready for the onslaught to follow, and I suppose it accomplishes that goal. These first guitar tones definitely remind me of older bands. I As Infernal opens with heavy guitars and blastbeats, and good vocals from Jonatan Nordenstam. I really like his style; very deep yet decipherable growls. This song is defined by slow, chugging riffs that are actually pretty catchy, and there's also some good technical guitar work thrown in. I do find myself wishing the song was faster however. World Deluge is a decent song, pretty catchy though nothing that hasn't been done before, and the guitar solo is pretty good, but nothing too interesting. Where the album really starts getting good for me is when A New Day starts with a quick, energetic riff that gets my attention and the guttural growls of Nordenstam hold me there. The song is particularly catchy and full of aggression. Humanae brings in some more atmospheric elements, slowing the music down and creating a sense of gloom and melancholy with huge riffs and lighter guitar notes. Saevio has some of the most brutal vocals on the album, and manages to create a sound that is pretty memorable thanks to the changing tempo and very heavy riffs and drums. Uproar continues the onslaught with a faster tempo and excellent guitar work. The album continues with more great songs, but I won't expound them all here. One last note: a couple longer tracks towards the end are really top-notch.

If you like your death metal to be stripped down, bare bones type stuff, this is probably the album for you. Most of what you're going to get is mid-paced riffs and blastbeats along with low growls, and the occasional guitar solo shrieking through the gloom. I think I should also mention that the production style is very good, it keeps things raw yet the instruments and vocals are mixed in a way so you can hear everything that's going on. All in all it's a good album for the death metal aficionado. The riffs and song structures are varied just enough so you don't get bored listening to the whole album, and the songs are also kept short enough to leave you wanting to hear more after they end. It feels like the band really tried to make every song memorable in some way, whether through unique riffs, very brutal vocals, or a catchy drum line. I really admire this effort put into making the songs unique, and although this album covers little new ground, it is a very solid death metal recording.

Killing Songs :
I As Infernal, A New Day, Saevio, Damnable Doctrine
Khelek quoted 86 / 100
Other albums by Laethora that we have reviewed:
Laethora - March of the Parasite reviewed by Alex and quoted 83 / 100
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