We all know that the Swedish Death Metal sound of the early 1990s left a deep impact on the Metal scene. You know: Boss HM-II pedal, Sunlight sound… Thus I wasn’t too surprised to hear the second full length from the Russian three piece WOMBRIPPER having all these trademarks including the blasting D-Beats, grooves and crunching lead guitars. Yet it would be too shortsighted to file WOMBRIPPER as copycats. One the one hand, the three piece blends the old fashioned style with some melodic leads in the vein of AT THE GATES or CARCASS. And the vocals sound less like typical Death Metal growling and more like some Hardcore shouter in a Black Metal band. On the other hand, WOMBRIPPER attend their matter with an enthusiasm that really impresses me. Thus “Macabre Melodies” really is a joy to listen to, especially as the album is very much on point in songwriting and pretty variable in its speed. From fast and furious riff massacres like ‘Possessed By Unknown’ or ‘Shredded Corpse Remains’ this albums is packed with great songs. Be it break laden songs like ‘Devastation Into Waste’ and ‘Church Of Repulsion’ (with a nod to earlier HYPOCRISY) or the final slow motion skullcrusher ‘Fractures’, a creepy tune with intense lead guitars. So I can really entrust any lover of Swedish styled Death Metal to check out WOMBRIPPER and “Macabre Melodies”. More band info at: www.facebook.com/wombripperband52, https://wombripper.bandcamp.com, label contact: www.facebook.com/memento.mori.label