Now here's a mean slab for those unfortunate (or is the word 'fortunate'?) souls who've never encountered effectively written and well-executed Swedish death metal. While Clandestine remains pristinely brutal throughout its pummeling duration, there's always a slight hint of melody and song craft present, genuine musicianship shining through even in those particularly ugly little sections littering the album. Clandestine is imbued with an amazing degree of catchiness, given its prized position within the metal underground. Fast chords (muted and chugging varieties) and ever-shifting percussion keeps the energy flowing, while bluesy solos and intricate, apocalyptic leads keep the listener surprised and attentive at ever turn. Songs are simply bursting with energy and aggression, at once distorted noise and kick-ass hookery. Vocals are shouted in an amply gruff voice, but we're also treated to absolutely absurd (but entirely fun) screams-o-agony and the occasional espousal of rhetoric. Apocalyptic doom tempos are present in abundance, adding a wonderful horror movie (I'm talking about the faux religious ones from the seventies) atmosphere, and who can resist that classic Swedish groove that Entombed more than mastered? As much as I would like to sit here and pretend that Clandestine is great, influential art of untold ramifications for rock music, I simply can't without rolling on the floor guffawing at my utter bullshittery. The album is fun beyond measure and about as self-serious as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with about the equivalent amount of "serious" content. It is, along with the profoundly influential Like an Everflowing Stream (Dismember) and Dark Recollections (Carnage), a sick slab of exploding metal fury in the classic Swedish school. Or something along those lines.

Review by James Slone

Review date: 04/2001

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