Entombed
Clandestine

Many of those who will see this review on the homepage (provided they are interested, of course) will wonder what sense it makes to write about a rather dated album (1991), from a band in evident decline and still too distant from those vibrations that almost twenty years ago allowed them to create the work under review.

Moreover, there is already a page dedicated to this album...

So?

So, just the other day, while browsing the shelf of the library where I jealously guard my vinyl, the "Earache Rec." section catches my eye, and between a "Reek of..." and a "Blessed are the Sick" my moved and nostalgic gaze falls on the monumental and epochal "Clandestine" by the seminal Entombed.

The album in question, forgive my immodesty, I know by heart: I remember buying it, not without difficulty finding it on the Bologna market, about a month after its publication date, just in time to read the excellent reviews from the specialized press.

At this point, driven by a strong De-reviewing desire, I log onto DeBaser and check if there are already reviews on it: a bad premonition was about to become reality as I recalled that in the meantime, some time ago, as I was preparing to review "DCLXVI - To Ride...", I noticed that the first works had already been abundantly rated.

At the time I didn't linger on reading them. And I was wrong.

Why?

Because all those who have written about it on this site weren't even born at the time when these records were released: none of them even slightly grasped the unique and shocking atmosphere, almost like that of an adept of an alchemical, metaphysical, and secret sect, that these seminal albums carried with them and I am talking about "Left Hand.." and "Clandestine". Without dwelling too much on the "boulevard of nostalgia", in 1989-1991 Slayer were considered the height of extremism and acceptability even among heavy metal adepts: having said that, the Entombed of "Clandestine" belong to another planet (not in a derogatory sense towards Tom Araya and co., of course), for sounds and type of proposal, for background and for executive taste.

The nude, cruel, obsessive, and macabre ferocity of "Left Hand Path" finds its maximum sublimation in "Clandestine": where the first is rough and compressed, I refer to the sounds, the second is sharper and penetrating without appearing bare or underpowered (see Crawl, Blessed Be, Living Dead), where the first is furious and angry, I refer to the average execution rhythm, the second is varied and imaginative but less a slave to the dualist duopoly "doom riff (slow) - death riff (fast)" (see Sinner Bleed, Chaos Breed), where the first leaves us longing, desiring still a few drops of that horrific dramaturgy that strikes and shocks us (as in the mythical title track "Left Hand Path") the second distributes wisely, with real construct and awareness throughout the entire album (see Evelyn and especially the closing Through the Collonnades), where the first is influenced by "Floridian" influences (Death, Sadus, and Massacre in the lead, so no Thrash Bay Area and similar, as stated elsewhere by others) and British hardcore plus obviously a good splash of early Venom, the second makes its own, in the full compositional maturity of our young Swedes, the old canons of the seminal Celtic Frost, bringing the personality needed to make oneself unique not only in the now famous and much-imitated guitar tone and timbre but also in constructing extremely well-conceived, varied, and particularly articulated songs.

"Clandestine", weak points?

Very few, and not all particularly negative.

The vocal performance of Nicke Andersson has long been a notable bone of contention: it would certainly have been better if the good L.S. Petrov, who had already provided a notably wrenching performance on the previous work, had been there to bark hatred and despair, but I have always personally noticed a disarming passion in the vocals of the drummer that made some of the forcefulness due to the absence of a voice capable of executing a full and deep growl more understandable and digestible.

The recording: the final mixing of the album certainly left the hard fans of the early days somewhat bewildered. Indeed, the sounds in general could have been more bombastic or at least more akin to the first work, while this mid-level equalization tuning and this almost crystalline cleanliness (the drums in particular) certainly caught by surprise those who at the time were expecting another apocalyptic blow. On the other hand, it is precisely this definition of sound that allows, after an initial auditory break-in, to savor and fully enjoy the numerous riffs and the masterful musical and technical maturity of our friends.

Absolutely to be rediscovered, especially for those who went from Linkin Park to brutal all within a school year.

The important thing is not the destination but how you reach it. Are you sure you have savored all the interludes?