Acephalix: Deathless Master (2012)

Left Hand Highway

By now, that left hand path is looking more like an eight-lane highway. There are probably more Swe-death bands outside Sweden than inside. That's not without good reason. The buzzsaw guitar tone is irresistible.

When we last heard from Acephalix, the San Francisco foursome dropped Interminable Night, a compilation that showcased their gradual transition from crust to Swe-death. Their sophomore full-length, Deathless Master, continues that trend. Any evidence of a crust influence is virtually gone.


Now, the only thing separating Acephalix from the typical sound of the genre is the vocals. Rather than the hoarse shouts of Entombed, these are deep, evil, guttural death growls.

OK, so it's nothing new. I feel like this is coming at the end of the OSDM revival. Now that every conceivable corner of the old-school has been reanimated and the genre has found its soul(less corpse) again, it's time to start moving forward.



The Verdict: Deathless Master is nothing new, and nothing special, but it's executed very well. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Buy Deathless Master