Sense the Darkness

Album review

Musical fashions and even musicians may come and go, but Denmark's Illdisposed carry on issuing death metal albums with a reliable persistence that's the envy of most bands. The group's 12th studio album, Sense the Darkness, was released in 2012, and while inappropriately named singer Bo Summer is now the last founding member left standing, the music itself gives no indication of the passing of years, trends, or personnel. Like the earth below and sky above, Illdisposed's music just...is. And what that is, is consistently catchy, groove-driven death metal commendably devoid of technical clutter or higher ambitions to change the world. Indeed, if Six Feet Under hailed from Europe, they'd likely share Illdisposed's DNA sequence, and the concrete (sort of) scientific proof lies with extreme but immediate ditties such as "Eyes Popping Out," "I Am Possessed," and "We Do This Alone." Far from boiling down to predictability, either, standouts like "Time to Dominate," "Stop Running," and "Another Kingdom Dead," in particular but not exclusively, make the effort of entertaining wildly varying dynamics, melodic passages, and other unforeseen twists. All of which surprisingly amplifies the contagious qualities of Sense the Darkness, even though hardly any new ground is being broken, and who can argue against Illdisposed's "stay the course" agenda given their impressive career longevity? Not the many bands that have evolved and perished along the way, that's for sure.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo