Death Breath

For most bands, a sophomore disc that sounds like it was culled from the same sessions as their debut would spell certain doom. In the case of Swedes Death Breath, it only serves to fuel the chaotic fire. Their ravenously aggressive death metal needs no improvement — it’s as relentless as it is haunting — and by not altering the formula Let It Stink is nothing less than stellar. A collection of seven more tunes that channel the spirit of Entombed’s earliest years (thank former Entombed/current Death Breath and Hellacopters founder Nicke Andersson for that), Let It Stink is as high on hilarity — the cover’s homage to the Beatles’ Let It Be rules — as it is on double-kick and ear-shattering bellows. Factoring in the kitsch content, tunes such as "Giving Head To The Dead” and "Dead But Walking” are accented by covers of Bathory, G.B.H. and Discharge ("Maimed And Slaughtered”), which transcribe into ’90s death metal quite well. Let It Stink is gross, goofy and guttural amusement; it’s raunchy, somewhat repulsive and thanks to the thundering bass, possessed vocals and scratchy guitars, fucking amazing.