Despite the fact that Laethora hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, and regardless of the fact that the band includes Dark Tranquility guitarist Niklas Sundin and Provenance guitarist Joakim Rosen, don't expect any melodic death metal here. The music on March of the Parasite is old school crushing death metal, more along the lines of Entombed, Morbid Angel, Bloodbath, Deicide, and Vader. As debuts go, this is very solid stuff, dripping with ferocity and extreme bombast, never really dipping into the technical end of things, but constantly delivering. Tunes like "Y.M.B.", "The Scum of Us All", and "Clothing For the Dead" all sound like they could have come out of 1991, with their intense vocal growls, pummeling guitar riffs, and relentless drum blasts. As good as the music is here, the vocals from Jonatan Nordenstam are the key to March of the Parasite. His growls are extremely well done, and for a change you can understand just about everything he is saying. Sounding somewhat like a cross between Glenn Benton from Deicide, Peter from Vader, and Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, Nordenstam really delivers the goods here without any need for melodic or metalcore type passages. Rhythmically, Jonnie Tell (bass) and Joel Lindell (drums) put in a fine performance, contributing rumbling grooves and blast beats throughout the album. Occasionally you hear some keyboards sprinkled in places for a spooky effect ( especially on "Facing Earth"), which might be a Mellotron, but it's rare, instead Sundin and Rosen create all the soundscapes and thunder with their twin axe attack. Expect plenty of monster riffs and some wild solos on this ride.
If March of the Parasite is any indication, Laethora are really going to hit it off with extreme metal fans worldwide. I'm expecting reaction to be very favorable, and hopefully we can expect more things from this juggernaut as far as future recordings and live shows are concerned.
Track Listing
01. Parasite
02. Clothing for the Dead
03. Revolution at Hand
04. Imposters
05. Black Void Remembrance
06. Repulsive
07. The Scum of Us All
08. Y.M.B.
09. Warbitrary
10. Facing Earth
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