Being a beginner in Death Metal and finding most of the contemporary scene dull I just don't get it when people sometimes go nuts over new DM albums. To remedy my lack of knowledge I asked a few friendly faces to recommend me some albums they consider classics of the genre. In this series I write down my thoughts after hearing these and couple them with added comments from our resident Goat overlord who is a seasoned death metal fan.
Entombed - Clandestine
Entombed! Who doesn't know Entombed, right? Well I didn't circa 2019 when I heard Left Hand Path the first time, after I'd somehow avoided hearing them in my 15 years of listening to metal. By then I had heard dozens of boring Entombed clones, however, so when I heard Left Hand Path I was...underwhelmed actually. But that's the subject for another entry into this series. Fast forward a year and someone told me to try Clandestine instead as "it's so much better". I need to find this person and give them a fucking medal. Clandestine is at once a rager and a shining example of why this style is so popular even now. But far from being a one trick pony, like many bands doing this today, Clandestine is atmospheric, heavy as a ton of bricks and full of ideas.
Early highlight "Sinners Bleed" shows this off by cutting you in the face with some sharp riffs before dancing away in a groove, something this album does quite a lot. This develops into a doom section complete with some classic Black Sabbath riffs before deconstructing into pure feedback filled atmosphere. Before snapping back for an intense end, we're met with one of the most grotesquely evil laughs I've heard in a sample from an old movie that surely makes industrial bands curse that they didn't think of it first. There are moments like this like the screamed ends of sentences in "Evelyn", the double tracked demon vocals in "Blessed Be" and the guitars mimicking the percussive effect of the drums in "Chaos Breeds" that are so corny that they shouldn't work. But they just do because it's done with an enormous conviction.
A big part of why this works for me are the vocals of Nicke Andersson. Clandestine has a unique character because the drummer has not only written the songs and performed this instrument but also performed the vocals, giving the material an uncanny cadence. It's very percussive and aggressive in its very fibers. The leads, solo work and drums all alternate in being intricate and bludgeoning. But the vocals and great gut-feeling for when the songs need to shift things up is what ties it all up in a bow for me.
Is this your first exposure to the album/band?
No. I've been listening to this particular album on and off for around two years.
Does this album feel like a classic to you?
Uh, yeah. Not content to tear you a new one, Clandestine uses its last breakneck song to rip your face off too. It's well written and brutally caveman-like all at once. All death metal should aspire to be this visceral if they can't bring any new ideas into the fold. Hell, Entombed did even that on this release as they started a whole movement in the genre. It doesn't quite edge out Close to a World Below as my favorite death metal album, but it's up there in the top.
Scuttlegoat adds his 2 cents:
First of all, depending on resale value, I would really like to get my medal.
Clandestine has always been my favorite of Entombed´s ouvre, for many of the reasons that 'Gatorrr has outlined above - and then some. I like Left Hand Path as well, mind you - but they hit very differently. Left Hand Path is the simpler record musically in many ways, which is ironic since Clandestine makes you feel its punk spirit much more strongly. Moments like the insane breakdown on 'Chaos Breed' could be viewed as precursors to what happens in Metal- and Deathcore, but its utter unpredictability makes it hit like like the lorry of bricks hinted at earlier. Clandestine is the wilder record, the more unhinged record. It feels more violent and has more of that grimy nastiness that so many Death Metal fans crave. However, there are two things that Clandestine does not have. On a level of atmosphere, no moment compares to the opening track of Left Hand Path, especially how it ends. And, while being consistently engaging, Clandestine has fewer standout moments. To me this always meant that it is just stronger on a level of craft, but to someone looking back, who maybe developed an interest in oldschool Death Metal coming from Melodeath or Metalcore, Clandestine is probably less appealing. Luckily, Metalligatorrr isn´t one of them.