Death Prevails

ost of the death metal bands that emerged in Germany in the 2000s were greatly influenced by Scandinavian death metal and showed little awareness of the American and British grindcore of the late '80s and early '90s. But Hackneyed is an exception, and the interesting thing is that none of their members are actually old enough to remember the early days of grindcore. When Death Prevails came out in 2008, the average age of Hackneyed's members was 16 (the youngest was 14). But even though all of them were either babies or unborn when grindcore bands like Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, and Cancer were in their prime, the German metallers' affection for old-school grindcore is evident on this album -- which is not to say that Death Prevails is a carbon copy of Cannibal Corpse's Butchered at Birth or Carcass' Symphonies of Sickness. Lyrically, tracks like "Bone Grinder," "Axe Splatter," "Gut Candy," and "Symphony of Death" have some of the cartoonishness, horror themes, and dark humor that the grindcore bands of the late '80s and early '90s were known for. But musically, Death Prevails doesn't have old-school grindcore's garage-like rawness; their work is more technical, and they offer a lot of tempo changes instead of playing at breakneck speed 100-precent of the time. Further, Death Prevails has an occasional influence that old-school grindcore didn't have: black metal. This 30-minute CD isn't black metal-influenced enough to be called blackened death metal, but on occasion, one does hear ominous black metal-ish harmonies and sinister rasp vocals. However, 95-percent of the vocals favor death metal's stereotypical Cookie Monster growl, and death metal is clearly the album's main ingredient. Although not exceptional or mind-blowing, Death Prevails is a likable effort (if one has a taste for death metal) and indicates that Hackneyed is worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson|