Feature: Deuteronomium Releases Ranked From Worst to First

When I think of early Christian death metal bands, invariably my mind jumps immediately to Mortification, Crimson Thorn and Living Sacrifice. For some reason, I always seem to forget that Europe also saw the birth of several classic death metal acts, and very early on, too; bands like GROMS and Extol from Norway, Pantokrator from Sweden, Immortal Souls from Finland, and the band we’ll be taking a closer look at today – Deuteronomium, likewise from Finland.

Deuteronomium, like Mexico’s Lament, is one of the more eclectic death metal bands out there, without question. If someone asked me to describe their style in brief, I’d simply say they are a melodic death metal band. But that’s really doing a disservice to a band that is so much more than simply being another melodeath artist.

Beginning as a somewhat slower-paced death/doom act, it wasn’t long before the band began to incorporate a whole host of influences into their sound, mixing in punk, hard rock, and even nu metal (gasp!) into their melodic death metal framework. What’s even more bizarre to me is how many of their album covers look nothing like what one would normally expect from a death metal band; I mean, the cover picture for Here To Stay looks more like something a 90’s alternative rock band like Matchbox 20 or Counting Crows would use (though, to be fair, Entombed had their alt-rock phase and attendant art). To be honest, I made the mistake of judging a book by its cover and paid little attention to the band, much to my listening loss. Fans of In Flames, Immortal Souls, Renascent, Entombed, GROMS, Mortification, Sentenced, Pantokrator, Soilwork and Lament will all find something to love with here.

Here, I seek to make up for lost time and showcase one of the more unique bands in Christian death metal, taking an in-depth look at their many releases over the last 30 or so years, and ranking them, as you’ve come to expect, from worst to first. Let’s dig in.

Deathbed Poetry: Hope Against Hope

Hyper-active melodeath reminiscent of Renascent on here that is frankly pretty astounding in terms of the skill on display, but there’s just one hitch, for me at least: the vocals. A lot of people, I hear, were pretty choked when Steve Rowe of Mortification ditched his thunderous death metal roar for a kind of strained, shouted vocal, and here, I feel like Deuteronomium did the same thing in a way. The music is fantastic, energetic and technically proficient, but the shouted vocals that dominate on this record take away from the effect and are almost distracting. A shame too, considering how awesome vocalist Mike Partala’s growls and screams can be. Not a terrible record by any means, but not my favourite.

Retaliatory Strike

Deuteronomium’s style by this point has hardened a bit more into a less experimental sound, one more grounded in the established melodic death metal style. Like Sacrament, they incorporate a lot of gang shout-style vocals on this one, and for me, it’s not my favourite thing. I think that, for me, this one simply doesn’t stand out, despite it being musically accomplished. The approach on here, in other words, is simply done better elsewhere. That said, if you liked the more frenetic approach on Deathbed Poetry: Hope Against Hope but weren’t keen on the clean vocals that dominated it, you might really enjoy this EP.

Crosshope

I feel like this demo was simultaneously a step back and a step forward for the band. Occasionally slower than Paths of Righteousness, Crosshope, at times, bears a lot in common with the sound of early Sentenced (circa-Shadows of the Past) and early Antestor, but also sometimes echoes super early In Flames (circa the criminally underrated Lunar Strain). Of course, that sounds like a great recipe on paper, and to be sure, the death metal on here is promising, and the Ulver-like acoustic guitars are beautiful. However, the singing on here is really cringe-inducing, sad to say, and the last track, “Fire of Trials,” is downright awful (a preview of some of the boundary-pushing they’d do on Street Corner Queen). I get that it’s a demo, but the production seems worse than their first effort, sounding more like a jam session than a proper record. All of that said though, for me it’s still an interesting piece of Finnish death metal history, but the muddled sound and awkward singing keep it from moving up the list.

Paths of Righteousness

That cover art. That logo. I love it – and I’m always sad to see bands changed their more “extreme” logos to something more legible, but that’s for another album. Paths of Righteousness is the band’s first demo, and definitely sounds like a demo. But if you can get past the rough production, there’s a bit of a gem here. Sonically, it bears some similarities to early Mortification but is much slower and doomier. Yes, the production’s thin, and yes, the clean-singing is not exactly the most tuneful, but it’s cool. I dig it. Given a beefed-up production, this would be much better. Already the band is making it known that they’re a bit different than the rest, incorporating a folksy flute into the proceedings. Rough but holds my interest.

From the Midst of Battle

After a several years long hiatus, Deuteronomium returned with this EP of classic melodic death metal. The band has eschewed its eclecticism of previous years in favour of a more straight ahead melodic death metal approach with an epic sensibility. Though it’s not necessarily unique, it’s really hard to argue against the solid nature of the material on here, and fans of classic In Flames will no doubt love this one. That, and the epic 17+ minute, My Silent Wake meets Pantokrator closer “Tales From the Midst of Battle” makes this album a worthy one. A great blend of the heavier sounds of their early days with the melodeath of their later days.

The Amen

That’s what I’m talking about. Whenever you see a band go back to its old “extreme” logo, you know you’re going to be in for a treat. The Amen sees Deuteronomium return to its earliest roots, slowing the music down and largely ditching the death ’n roll sounds of their mid-period in favour of a crunchier, mid-paced death/doom metal sound. Those who have become accustomed to the band’s energized melodic death metal approach since Here To Stay might be disappointed somewhat by this band’s heavier and chunkier approach, but I think this is the sound of what they were initially going for back in the early 90’s. The blend of melody with the sludgier sounds of bands like GROMS, early Sentenced and early Pantokrator works, even if it’s not as original as their late 90’s material.

Tribal Eagle

Even though death ’n roll has never been my first choice when it comes to death metal’s many subgenres and styles, there’s something kind of exciting about Deuteronomium’s obvious take on the style, even if it’s not my thing. It’s got a braggadocious swagger to it that fans of classic hard rock and heavy metal will love, loaded with flashy guitar solos to boot. But what makes it more interesting than other examples in the style is its eclecticism. If you’re big on Entombed post-Clandestine, I feel like this album is going to be your bag. What stands out to me is how the last track “Blue Moment” turns the whole EP on its head with its melancholic black metal approach. Just another indicator of this band’s obvious refusal to be pigeon-holed into one sound or style.

Here To Stay

Here To Stay is a step back, for sure, from the all-over-the-map approach of Street Corner Queen, and I think its more straightforward approach is somewhat of a letdown from all the excitement and originality heard on the previous record. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad album; in fact, it’s hard driving mix of melodeath and death ’n roll is extremely well done, and those who found Street Corner Queen’s hyper-eclectic approach bewildering will love the laser-focused metal on here. Fans of Pantokrator, 90’s Carcass, Entombed and 90’s In Flames will find a ton to love here.

Street Corner Queen

Man, not one version of Street Corner Queen’s album covers made me ever think the album would sound like this one. Infamous for being an album that threw a whole host of musical styles into the mix, it’s the all-dressed chip of their discography. Extreme music demands extreme responses apparently, and this album garnered everything from total praise to total disdain. Veering from the thuggish death ’n roll of Entombed to searing hardcore punk to nu-metal-esque rap and reggae fusion to Gothenburg-influenced melodeath, the band really threw everything at the wall in hopes of something sticking. Does it work? Mostly, yes, though not without some major hiccups along the way. “Bonsai People” is a real misstep, an oddly-inserted rap metal/nu-metal track that sounds really out of place, even on an album like this, and “Empty Shell” falls completely flat with its barely in tune singing and alt-rock riffs. “Human Nature” is even worse, sounding like a demo of a lost rap metal B-side from 1999. It’s inevitable I suppose. But take those three songs off of this record, and you’ve got a classic. Street Corner Queen is the album that showcases all of their influences like one giant buffet, from the slash ’n burn punk-influenced “Druglord” to the overtly black metal surge of noise entitled “Spell of Hell” to the classic Entombed influence heard on “Black Raven.” Fans of bands as diverse as Believer, Entombed, Woods of Ypres, GROMS, In Flames and a whole ton of others will find something to love here. Bottom line, Street Corner Queen is the band’s most unique and perhaps most memorable album; its eclecticism is at once its strength and its weakness, but it makes for a melodic death metal album that stands out from the rest in spite of itself. 

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