Band : Despite
Album title : In Your Despite
Label : Tractor Productions
Distributor : Sound Pollution – Music Shock Promotion - Suburban
Release date : 11/08/2009
Release : CD

This Gothenburg based Swedish Death Metal act has been around for a little more than a decade now (founded in 1998), but continuous line-up changes have prevented the band’s signature to any roster (in spite of some outstanding demos made by the band’s several incarnations). In 2007 however, when singer Alex Lösback (of Decameron, Cardinal Sin, and Runemagick repute), rhythm guitarist John Lidén, and drummer Joseph Astorga (Deus Ex Machina) came to join the mainstay duo of lead guitarist Timmy Leng and bassist Fredrik Meister, things finally looked like stabilizing. Tractor Productions must’ve felt the same, because they singed the band in 2008, and in September of that same year the band started recording. In Sweden, the band’s long-awaited official full-length debut was already released on Friday the 13th of May, 2009.

“Full-length” is actually too big a word here, as the 7 featured tracks (one of which a very nice Atmospheric/ Ambient instrumental, done with electronics rather than the band’s usual instrumentation) only last a small 25 minutes! However, what was recorded is of rather good quality (I’ve been running around with some of the album’s riffs in my head for a couple of days now). Well, Despite’s “Death Metal” certainly has a modern flavouring, adding catchiness through the addition of Thrash elements and a certain slow-paced “technical” play…and seeing as the band mentions the likes of Machine Head, Hatebreed, The Haunted, Misery Signals, and Lamb Of God among their influences, that should tell you something about where the guys “come from” [I personally find it important to find out about a band’s background, and will always incorporate such details in a review & my appreciation of the band’s music…not like the guy whom reviewed this album for Dutch magazine Aardschok, who dubbed the band’s music (translated) “an unsuccessful trial at mixing Gothenburg Metal with Hardcore”]! You can listen to 3 songs off the…mini-album…at myspace.com/despitegbg, album opener “Mindplague” featuring Knut Angered of the famous Swedish (television) comedy group Galenkasparna.

Sure, it’s been done before, occasionally even better, but Despite (who’ve just had yet another – amical – line-up change with Lidén being exchanged for former Marionette rhythm guitarist Johan Sporre, and former Ingnis’ Oskar Nilsson taking place behind the drum stool) dó bring a couple of catchy songs here! Proof of which my earlier mention of some of the riffs clinging in my mind! At any rate, if you’re a fan of the mentioned influencial acts, check this one out as well!

88/100

Tony.