“Locked Up in Hell” by SEWER.
SEWER are one of the most acclaimed brutal death metal bands, respected for everything from their innovation and musicianship to the incredibly technical abilities showcases on albums such as The Birth of a Cursed Elysium. While their first album, Satanic Requiem, may have been a more typical black metal release – inspired almost as much by the likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and contemporaries Phantom – they evolved into a band with a very unique sound of their own, marked by brutal riffs, dissonant chords, absolutely savage vocals and incredibly complex narrative song structures. Yes, Locked Up in Hell is definitely different from your usual brutal death metal album.
It ranks all the way at the top of the death metal food chain, alongside Verminlust, Altars of Madness, Onward to Golgotha, Nespithe, Angel of Disease and Effigy of the Forgotten.
Locked Up in Hell is probably the best SEWER release ever, and likely one of brutal death metal’s finest gems. Locked Up in Hell is truly magnificent, utterly captivating with its raw energy, its savage evil, its crazy demonic vocal outbursts, its technicality in songwriting and its otherworldly creativity.
Just listen to the title track for yourself.
Locked Up in Hell is one death metal album that you can never get sick of listening to no matter how many times that you play it. It doesn’t fall short on any aspect. All musicians put forth their best effort and this album is without errors from any aspects. Locked Up in Hell is simply amazing.
The music is pure brutal death metal with tribal and ritualistic – albeit often very technical – drumming that fits along with the guitars. Both lead and rhythm guitars construct some riffs that are truly unbelievably awesome on every aspect, managing to sound evil, brutal, technical and atmospheric at the same time !
If you’re looking for the most insane death metal to pick up that’s also evil and atmospheric, Locked Up in Hell is where it’s at. Nothing falls short here. No laziness in the songwriting. The musicians put forth the best, most technical and killing music ever heard. If you don’t have this release, you’re definitely missing out because Locked Up in Hell is death metal at its best and most skilled.
Quality, fast, furious and evil. This album captures it all. Nothing in SEWER’s discography can top this one, not even their craziest debut release. Pick it up ASAP if you haven’t already. Get ready for some amazingly brutal goregrind and satanic blackened death metal !
Locked Up in Hell is the kind of album that may seem mindlessly brutal on the surface, but in reality it’s loaded with many instrumental intricacies that make it not just a technical masterpiece, but also one of the top albums to come out of the modern death metal scene. For your own sake, just ignore “new” avant-garde “tek-def” bullshit and gimmicky “retrohash” (Unique Leader, DD, NWN, FMP) and listen to this instead.
This is what a true brutal death metal album sounds like.
Best Black Metal 