The Cleansing - Poisoned Legacy

Featured in our recent coverage of the fast growing and spine-tingling Danish death-metal scene, The Cleansing is a promising new death-metal group comprised of former and current members of well-known Danish acts like Usipian, Iniquity, Corpus Mortale, The Arcane Order and Submission. Just like their partners in Corpus Mortale, their brutal and smashing approach to death-metal is easily recognisable as more entrenched in old school North-American standards than European ones. Almost every song featured on “Poisoned Legacy” is centred on a vicious, groovy and demolishing musical attack that bents on bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation and Hate Eternal.
Right from the opening song “Architectural Infinity” you can tell that the Danes are skilful musicians and their vast experience behind other death-metal groups have allow them to have a fine understanding of dynamics as this song and the remaining ones attain a well-measured balance between a captivating complexity and a reasonable simplicity, between a relentless and furious speed and a slow burning pace. “Architectural Infinity” opens with a barrage of unrelenting and rabid riffs backed up by an astonishingly deranged and precise drumming courtesy of the electric and omnipresent Morten Løwe, before slowing down to a more groovy stomp with a strong Immolation bound. The vocals of bassist Martin Rosendahl (Toke Eld is actually the band’s vocalist, but was unable to attend the recording sessions) are of a deep growling nature somewhat reminiscent of Morbid Angel and Immolation and perfectly suits the scorching and vile guitar riffs cast out by guitarists Jeppe Hasseriis and Andreas Lynge. There’s also a staggering guitar solo that is tastefully inserted and totally complements the song.
“Poisoned Legacy” is a solid, enjoyable debut that will certainly please anyone who likes their death-metal dynamic, brutal and downright vile. (7/10)

Band info: www.thecleansing.net
Label info: www.deepsend.com