Bear Mace - Slaves of the Wolf
I feel like there's a degree of revisionism in the metal community when it comes to newer bands that aren't as extreme as their forefathers. There's a hollow between modern extreme metal and their commercially successful brothers in radio metalcore, at least in America. In Europe, there's plenty of heavy metal that's not extreme that gets airtime and critical attention, but here, we don't want to call any bands that fill that gap "heavy metal" for some reason. "Trad metal", maybe. "Hair metal revival", occasionally. When those bands creep closer to extremity, but don't hit a certain threshold of technicality or perversity, they get called "Old School".
Everyone I've talked to about Bear Mace describes them as Old-School Death Metal. I don't see why you need to tack on "Old School". I'd say they're one of the best examples of unhyphenated Death Metal to put out a record last year. Bear Mace don't slam, they don't really break down, their vocals are more Frank Mullin than Alex Terrible (and thank god for that). They solo, but they don't carry on. They're fast and melodic but they're still abrasive. They even look like your statistically-average 2020s death metal band with their mix of salt & pepper beards. What Bear Mace do best is what Death Metal does best. They deliver horrific scenarios and angry, repulsive riffs.
Slaves of the Wolf, the Chicago band's third LP, starts off with a bang in the title track, "Slaves of the Wolf". It sets the tone for the album with its uptempo riffing, traditional song structure, and lyrics about the fall of Nazi Germany. Next track "Worthless Lives" is comparatively complex, starting off off with a guitar solo section that gets progressively more MeloDeath as it goes on, then the track turns into Chuck Schuldinger worship in the best way. There are plenty of groove changes, arabesque melodies, and perfect fifth harmonies here.
I just want to say as an aside: basically every song on this album has a guitar solo. I mean a real, shreddy guitar solo, not just a glorified counterpoint or extension on top of the riff. They all kick ass.
The intro double-kick riff for "Drown Them in Their Blood" has that quality that early 00s Gojira and mid 80s Metallica riffs have, where the guitar part feels so obvious, so simple, but somehow breathtaking nonetheless. "The Iceman Cometh" is the shortest and fastest track on the album, and the one that most clearly shows the Thrash lineage of Death Metal. Garry Naples' drumming is smothered in backward-looking hall reverb, but his playing is tight enough to drive these songs forward with energy and hatred. That reverb only holds his playing back a little bit on these faster songs, but it really gives power to slower ones like cannibal-horror "Captured and Consumed" and the midtempo sections on "Worthless Lives".
The first half of the album is definitely stronger than the second half, but the second half is still respectable. "Heretics Burn" is saved by a quality post-chorus swing riff. "Prophecy" has a pretty good first minute, but the bulk of the song is pretty one-note. Intense, but not much else. "Cancerous Winds" is able to back up that intensity with dark melody, a hardcore breakdown, and real, harrowing tragedy. It also has what I believe to be the best guitar solo on the album. There's also a physical-exclusive bonus track, the Celtic Frost cover "Jewel Throne", which is thrashy and fun but not essential listening like the first five tracks.
The album back is done in a style that brings to mind old horror movie VHS/DVD covers. The front is a neat painting (please be a painting) of fascist soldiers walking past a church, barbed wire, and a snarling werewolf. It's dope. The interior booklet is no-frills, with a glowering picture of the band, lyrics/guitar solo ownership, and some basic credits and thank yous. Good fundamentals, just like the songs themselves.
Thematically, this album covers all your death metal bases. Distrust of authority ("Heretics Burn"). War ("Drown Them In Their Blood"). Murder ("The Iceman Cometh"). Cosmic horror ("Prophecy"). Body horror ("Cancerous Winds"). The only mainstay topic they've missed is misogyny, for which I am grateful. If someone new to the genre wanted an example of what Death Metal sounds like, of course I'd tell them to check out the 90s classics like None So Vile, Tomb of the Mutilated, and Heartwork, but I'd tell them to check out Dark Superstition, Hidden History of the Human Race, and Slaves of the Wolf first.
Someone's got to occupy the middle of the road, and I'm happy someone's doing it as well as Bear Mace.