You’re not done yet with Cadaver.
After its recent resurrection, the band created in Norway in 1988 by Anders « Neddo » Odden (guitar/vocals/bass, Order, ex-Apoptygma Berzerk, live for Satryricon, Celtic Frost…) accompanied by Dirk Verbeuren (drums, Megadeth, Scarve, Tronos, Bent Sea, ex-Aborted, ex-Soilwork…) announces the release of The Age Of The Offended, their sixth album, in 2023.
It will also feature Ronni Le Tekrø (TNT) on guitar, and Eilert Solstad, the band’s live bassist.
With Sycophants Swing, the opening track, the band creates an eerie, dissonant atmosphere thanks to that strange trumpet, before invoking Black Metal roots on Postapocalyptic Grinding, a raw composition with aggressive riffs. The vocal parts only amplify the track’s striking power, as on the virulent Scum Of The Earth, which draws on its energetic Old School influences. The Age Of The Offended, the eponymous track, then hypnotizes us with a catchy rhythmic pattern complemented by unleashed screams that perfectly fit the unholy melodies we also found on Death Revealed and its brutal groove passages. The band doesn’t hesitate to bring the wilder tones to the fore with sudden acceleration or blistering leads, then the intensity slows down with The Shrink and its regular haunting tones, coupled with dissonant leads. The musicians return to a heady approach with Crawl of the Cadaver, where filthy tones meet massive blast and sometimes disturbing melodies, which are brought to calm again with The Drowning Man and its sharp but catchy riffs. The rhythm is sure to catch fire towards the end, giving way to The Sicker, The Better, a much livelier track that doesn’t hesitate to dip into Thrash influences to give a touch of energy to the unhealthy Black Metal. This aggressive approach is echoed on Dissolving Chaos, which doesn’t hesitate to set a frantic pace with its bloody riffs, as well as on Deadly Metal and its wild charge packed with howling harmonics, sometimes replaced by chaotic leads. The end of the album takes shape with The Craving, which draws on solid Heavy Metal to build its wave of rage, followed by Freezing Isolation, which closes the album with a final fix of unhealthy, aggressive sounds.
With The Age Of The Offended, Cadaver reveals a wilder, more incisive side to their music. Still rooted in unholy, unhealthy Black Metal, the band’s short but effective tracks explore all their influences.
80/100