Band:	Cemetery Urn
Album:	Suffer The Fallen
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	October 2023

01. Damnation Is In The Blood
02. Kill At A Distance
03. Savage Torment
04. Embers Of The Burning Dead
05. Room Of Depravity
06. Suffer The Fallen
07. Compulsive Degradation
08. It Will End In Death

Do you fancy yourself nothing more than some straightforward solid OSDM? Well, Cemetery Urn may just have what you're looking for with Suffer The Fallen, as it is solid OSDM and nothing more.

The five-piece Australian death metal band Cemetery Urn formed back in 2006, and now have five full-length releases to their name, including this latest effort, titled Suffer The Fallen. The band has gone through several line-up changes, but founding member Andrew Gillon (guitars, occasionally bass) has remained the bedrock for the band since their formation. According to Bandcamp, joining him on this latest release are Brandon Gawith (drums), Joel Westbrook (bass) and Chris Volcano (vocals), although original vocalist Damon Bloodstorm appears on a vinyl-only bonus track. Although having developed some kind of reputation in the Australian death metal scene over the years, Cemetery Urn remain relatively unknown to death metal fans worldwide, and upon listening to Suffer The Fallen, it's quite hard to see why; this is a band that have stayed true to the OSDM ways, steadily producing some fine death metal records along their way.

To start with, Suffer The Fallen is 35-minutes in length, which I can tell you is a more than ideal length for the heavy onslaught your head will likely be put through; any longer and your head will surely split in two. There are eight tracks in total, none of which venture outside of OSDM territory, which I guess is pleasing for fans of this particular genre, but not so much if you're someone who prefers a more technical and original death metal approach. The opening track "Damnation Is In The Blood" immediately surrounds you in the madness that both the Floridian and Swedish death metal scenes were renowned for back in the 90s; there is nothing in this track that you wouldn't expect from a standard death metal approach, from the demonically evil death growls, chunky Earth-shattering bass and devastating drumming, to the crushingly groovy slamming riffs and wailing shredding solos.

However, there is one particular element that does stand out, and that's the production; it's what I believe separates Cemetery Urn from the thousands of other bands that mimic everything there is to OSDM. The sound is so dirty and vile, and has a real authenticity about it. Their ability to saturate the listener in this brutal wall of sound that never gives you a moment to breathe is truly unsatisfying (and in a good way). Throughout the eight tracks you'll succumb to powerful and unforgiving rhythms through devastating instrumentation, giving you the feeling as though you've been consumed into a hellish pit, and are being constantly dragged further down into its depths by demonic beings that simply give you no chance of escape.

There are several moments that really stand out for me despite the lack of originality, the first being the track "Savage Torment", which is memorable due to the Bolt Thrower-standard groovy riffs, rhythms and tempo. You then have ultra-frenzied drumming beats, buzzsaw ripping groovy riffs, and wailing solos on "Embers Of The Burning Dead", resembling something straight out of the Swedish death metal scene. The track "Room of Depravity", at just over five minutes in length, is the album's longest song, and also has no shortage of groove or brutality, but here the monstrous growls are even taken up a notch, such that you feel like you're actually experiencing a beastly demon breathing down your neck in parts. 

Now, I needn't say more, other than Suffer The Fallen is not the most comfortable listen; the heaviness from the instrumentation is simply relentless, and the production is suffocating as hell, so you can thank God for the album's short length in that regard. There's nothing overly technical about it, there's no blending of genres, and so not much in the way of originality either, but what Cemetery Urn does provide is some quality death metal in the traditional OSDM mould, and if that's your thing then Suffer The Fallen will surely leave you satisfied.