Acephalix - Decreation album review

West Coast, death-devoted crustpunks head back to the Grave

Cover art for Acephalix - Decreation album

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It’s a tradition that all the young Swedeath disciples – all of whom are determined to resurrect the original spirit of the Stockholm sound that emerged at the end of the 80s – have their own totems. For most, it’s the brutish force of early Entombed. For others, it’s Dismember’s cruelty. But for Acephalix, it’s all about Grave, more precisely their 1992 album You’ll Never See, where the originators found the perfect balance in between brutality and slimy groove. As a part of a larger group of Bay Area former crustpunk warriors (Vastum, Necrot, Lawless, etc), sworn to the classic death metal sound, Decreation sounds like an exercise in style. However, it’s one that Acephalix excel at, as they’ve fully digested its best bits – the rotten swing, the heavier-than-fuck guitar tone, the morbid harmonies – and then regurgitated them with the aid of gigantic meathooks and a big grim smile on their bloodied face.