For all the talented people involved in Grand Cadaver (featuring members from Dark Tranquility and Katatonia, among other bands), their mission statement is simple: to write Death Metal songs that are conceived spontaneously and quickly, letting their passion for the music guide the way. There is nothing wrong with the quick and enjoyable shot of adrenaline that Deities of Deathlike Sleep provides in its succinct 35 minutes, a great territory for a Death Metal album to aim for. The Death Metal on display takes the form of the HM-2 drenched Stockholm scene and the inspirations of Entombed and Dismember loom large over the material. Interestingly enough I find that a little of the Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal scene creeps in as well with some At the Gates sounding riffs in “A Crawling Feast of Decay” and in the more melodic tracks that unsurprisingly sound like some of the heaviest Dark Tranquility material. Fittingly, Mikael Stanne is convincing as always with his reliable rasp and he even reaches for some dirtier growls to great effect. Perks like this make listening to the album an enjoyable affair.
However, much of the material consists of some very short cuts that rarely develop past the chunky main riff before the song is over. There is a Grindcore like quality in the punky Death Metal that stays true to the influences of bands like Entombed mixed into their work, but your mileage will vary depending on what you want. For me, after the third spin of the record the appeal starts to fade and this is because what Grand Cadaver does on this album shows some potential that is not being utilised like it could be. The straight Death Metal material is underdeveloped (though the band does this for fun, I know) and the songs that lean towards Melodic Death metal does not often crop up. I understand not wanting to make something that feels like a HM-2 version of Dark Tranquility. But when the band combine the chainsaw riffs and grooves of the Stockholm sound with the melodicism of the scene in which the vocalist has his other foot (“The Wishful Dead”, “Necrosanctum”), it’s clear the combination works. After all, I am reminded of Clandestine, where Entombed both pound you into a puddle on the floor and feature un-resistable catchy grooves at the same time. Either way, Deities of Deathlike Sleep is a fun experience while it lasts.
