At face value, Finland’s Worthless play Swedish styled death metal. They have HM 2 sounding guitars (though not overbearing), gruff, rough vocals and cantankerous, galloping riffs. But if you take a deeper dive (and take into account the band moniker and album title) in the band’s second full length, you get a little more nuanced take on the sound that’s a little more despondent and somber.

Amid the standard Comecon meets latter Entombed/Dismember gallops, (i.e openers “Carnival of Sin” and “Seeds of Degeneration”) I occasionally get strains of Cemetary’s Godless Beauty, and Sentenced’s morose moodiness. For example, the third and fourth tracks “Vantablack” and” Melancholia Metamorphosis”, things slow down to a more despondent trot. Not full-on doom metal or even death-doom but certainly a subtle pallor of despondency sets in frequently.

“Lunatic” picks up the pace, but still, the lead guitar work has a certain air of melancholy to it. “Choremania” (a condition of manic dancing- who knew?),  and “The Mighty Madness” however, does revert back more to a straight-up romping, Swedish death metal canter, though the latter still has that same, subtle, sad lead work weaved into the punky pace.Closer “The Last Exit” isn’t subtle at all, being a full-on plodding death-doom number fitting some of their Finnish brethren.

Melancholic Rites is an intriguing little self-released album sure to get snowed under by the likes of LIK, Demonical and other bigger named Swedish styled death metal veterans, but has enough nuances to downhearted makes it a slightly different effort in the genre.

[Visit the band's website]

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