German death metal band Cemetery has roots that go back close to forty years, as they originally formed in 1986 and had two releases before morphing into a different band around 1993. Both those releases saw them exploring a similar mix of intense death metal aggression and a more progressive oriented sound, not too different from what bands like Death and Pestilence were going for around the same period. A reissue in 2014 would expose a new generation to Cemetery, with founder Daniel Zizek bringing them back in 2017. Since then, a second album was released and the lineup has shifted a bit, but this year’s Thoughts on Life... and Death showcases that the current incarnation is just as potent as in its earlier days. With the material pulling in a little bit of everything death metal adjacent, there’s plenty here to keep listeners returning for some time to come.
Cemetery has chosen to start their latest effort off in as intense a fashion as possible, as opener “Thoughts on Life” is a fast paced and heavy hitting track that launches right into the attack. The layers of guitars and rumbling bass lines make for an immediately dense sound, but after the first forty-five seconds or so the lower death metal tonality gives way to some leads that have more of a blackened death metal sound. This might be a little bit different from what you’re expecting given the comparisons to Death and Pestilence, but the instrumentals expand upon the progressive side of the spectrum as you get further into the album. It’s this back-and-forth exploration of everything death metal that had me fully invested in Thoughts on Life... and Death from the first listen, as sometimes they go for soaring guitar leads and bass lines that seem to dance over top of the drums, while other moments go more old-school death metal or bring in additional thrash and black metal elements. It feels like Zizek and company have taken the foundation laid by 2019’s comeback effort The Last Day on Earth and expanded outwards further, making each song a journey from beginning to end that covers quite a bit of ground. While the first half goes for a slightly more direct and bludgeoning approach, the second half is where Cemetery really lets their progressive side shine, as there’s even more unexpected transitions and more subtle instrumentation. “Physical Fear” and the doomy closer “Thoughts on Death” do drag a bit, but these are minor issues when considering how strong the writing is throughout the entire album.
The instrumentals may explore a lot of melodic elements in between the harsher ones, but the vocals keep things firmly on the harsh side of the spectrum. Daniel has a raspy scream/growl that towers over the recording with a commanding presence, but everything is enunciated well enough that it’s not too difficult to make out the lyrics. Cemetery has opted for a concept album that explores the rise of a totalitarian regime and the collapse of the individual as this occurs, and the lyrics and songwriting work together to tell the narrative in a way that is compelling. There are some smaller details like distorted spoken word on “Truth “A”” that switch things up a bit, but for the most part the band sticks with the harsher pitches that keeps things on the aggressive end.
There have been plenty of groups over the years who returned after a multi-decade absence in death metal and put out strong material that made it seem like they just picked up right where they left off, especially in Sweden. Cemetery did that back in 2019 with The Last Day on Earth, and six years later with a new lineup in place they’ve done it again. Thoughts on Life... and Death expands their sound outwards while keeping the same engaging progressive elements and old-school flair, making for an album that should appeal to fans of all types of death metal.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg