Mr. Death
Detached from Life

November 2009
Released: 2009, Agonia Records
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen

Jocke Lindström (on vocals), Stefan Lagergren (on guitar), Alex Stjärnfeldt (on 2nd guitar), Jörgen Thullberg (on vicious 4-string firestarter) and Jonas Olsson (on relentless skin pounding). With an experienced band-wise (I mean) line-up like this, you are able to spread pretty much death, decay and havoc around us. Some of these guys listed above, have played in such bands as Treblinka/Tiamat, Expulsion and Septic Grave before, so there´s something to be expected from them too whenever musicians - with that long musical history behind them, gather together for some new project.



Mr. Death is these 5 Swedish death meisters´ new project band anyway, serving its purpose to make us love that old school Swedish ´död metall´ sound - with the legendary Sunlight Studio and Thomas Skogsberg production. Naturally.



DETACHED FROM LIFE, Mr. Death´s debut album on the Polish Agonia Records with its 11 songs of putrid and maggots reeking old school Swedish sounding death metal, performed the way it was used to be done during the golden period of the Swedish heavily downtuned death metal, 90s that was. It´s bands like Grave, old Therion, Nirvana 2002, Centinex and so many other Swedish troops of death where Mr. Death could be a reflection from, both music and lyric-wise as well. To some of us they may be just another somewhat pathetic act in the ever-growing line of Swedish retro-death metal bands that are trying to earn some of that gone and lost respect and appreciation back for themselves again by going back to their roots some 10-15 years ago. Don´t know anything about the uttermost reasons behind forming Mr. Death, but I have to admit it´s really damn hard to resist liking Mr. Death - almost nearly impossible if you ever liked that 90s sound of Swedish death. These experienced carriers of the ancient and brutally marvelous Swe-death torch are in a fine form and spirit to churn out their ripping, all-mangling corpse-heavy death metal anyway – and if they are able to do it in this convincing and devoted way, why not to do it then?



Again, neither that essential - nor that mandatory release here, but still very much fun to listen to if you just happen to be a sucker for this type of 90s Swedish-made death metal sound.