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Rating: I believe I can confidently assert that "DCLXVI To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth" is quite a challenging album to review, and let me explain: Entombed came from almost ten years ("To ride,...." is from '97) of unreserved success. Since their beginnings as Nihilist, they grew their fame, first thanks to a whirlwind tape trading (exchange, sale of demos) very popular at the time, then becoming Entombed and signing a contract with the most prestigious label of the era in the extreme metal field (Earache Rec., see Napalm Death, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Unseen Terror, Godflesh, etc., etc.). They published entire pieces of history like "Left hand path" and "Clandestine." But with the subsequent and highly acclaimed "Wolverine Blues," something changed: the straightforward death metal of our guys mutated, becoming a very strange (unique, to be honest) explosive mixture where hardcore/punk reminiscences mingle with clear Motörhead influences, then filtered through the still distinctly audible death fury (for example, the opener "Eyemaster").
"To ride..." is a good transitional album that no longer possesses the element of surprise of its predecessor; on the contrary... everyone expected them at the pass, and it is partly for this reason that there was a 4-year gap between the two full-lengths in question (plus an interlocutory series of EPs and even a new bassist, since Lars Rosenberg left the band shortly after "Wolverine...", due to musical differences, they said), because courage is needed in choices, but even more is required in being consistent with what has been chosen.
Therefore, we are faced with a creature that oozes a rotten and malevolent blues, Sabbathian yes, but also capable of taking inspiration from more Southern and seventies things and then transporting them with strongly DISCHARGE-flavored accelerations of "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing." The extraordinary thing is that the sound, the anger, and what makes Entombed have not changed at all, making the album and the band immediately recognizable. Of the early days' death metal, nothing remains, except for the roots from which they draw, particularly the Celtic Frost of "Morbid tales/Emperor's return," as in the opener and title track or, for example, in the rhythms of "Light out" or "Just as sad" and the hoarse, growling but more modulated singing, more relevant to the lyrics (always enjoyable, true demonic gems...) compared to the past, of the good L.G. Petrov.
The album also unexpectedly presents itself as protracted in terms of time, boasting 14 tracks, including the instrumental piano piece "DCLXVI," and the feeling is that of a journey inside a soundtrack of 1960s b-horror movies, something that unexpectedly aligns our guys with some works of Rob Zombie/White Zombie and Danzig. Worth noting is the opening triad of the album, namely the already mentioned title track, "Light out" and "Like this with the devil," the powerful and well-conceived "Somewhat Peculiar," the singles "Damn deal done" and "Wrackage" (the only track where speed makes a bit of a comeback) for the filthy roughness.
Ultimately, an album that further distorts the already deformed creature Entombed, but that will not fail to gain followers, with a myriad of groups devoted to returning to hardcore/rock'n'roll shores, and will have such a long influence that it manifests even now in the latest black metal releases (see the latest Satyricon, Darkthrone, and other lesser bands).
Worth trying.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Like This With the Devil (02:12)
There ain't no god that will save you from regret
It's just that god is in a state of neglect
And it's your goddamn act that is a major threat
Salvation won't be rearing it's head
for a fact at least not in my time
And what good is a song for peace
when the fucker doesn't even rhyme
I won't be calling
Calling as we level
And when were falling
I'm like this with the devil
When they're creeping upon you
Eating dust that you bleed
Don't say I didn't warn you
A toast to your death to myself cuz I'm free
Like this with the devil
04 Wound (02:43)
I bare my scares with pride
My bones are cold right thru
The cuts are so deep
I'm on top of the world
I feel great 'bout my scars
Old habits - hard to break
The wound is to be
The cuts are so deep
I feel fine
the wound is the key
Scares are marks
Scares are art
Salvation's kickin' in
Hellucination breaking free
The wound is the source
The wound is the cause
The wound is my time
The wound is the high!
06 Somewhat Peculiar (03:20)
I don't know where it came from, just what it meant
it is getting pretty deep in here folks, please let me vent
Say it doesn't kill you - Will you last a little longer?
but every time they fight something down, it comes back even stronger
I don't know where it came from, God knows where it went
I just find it somewhat peculiar that it's all heaven sent
Ever get the feeling there's something you're not being told?
like your mind's put on hold
while your body is being bought and sold
Ever felt just a little bit out of control?
well, god bless your soul
pray you never reach a point when your only goal
is feeding a hole
I don't wanna learn anything new - Already know more than I want to
liked things better when I didn't understand them
we got them off the ground - now we can't land them
08 Parasight (02:50)
When all you have's a hammer, all you see is nails
When all you have's a hammer, and when all else fails
Hit the nails!
When all you have's a buzz-saw, all you see is wood
When all you have's a buzz-saw, you just wish you could
Yeah, you would!
When all you have's a lighter, all you see's a fuse
And when you see it burning, you ain't got nothing to lose!
When all you have's a shovel, all you see is graves
When all you have's a shovel, in hollow pits they will be saved
Light the fuse!
09 Damn Deal Done (03:26)
He's a man, gonna do what he can to make this world a decent place
He's a man, got a great little plan on how to give it a brand new face
He wants to erase
He wants to replace
He wants to wipe the scum of the earth off its pretty face
Didn't wanna be just another voice with an answer
he'd seen it done before and turn into a cancer
but he was a chancer
way romancer
He had such great plans
He had such great plans
to get the damn deal done
11 Just as Sad (01:51)
God's an insect with a six-legged disbelief
Burning bridges on my Indian Big Chief
Reality is just as sad
Kinky sex and murder - the way it's got to be
But have you heard her begging to be free
Reality is just as sad
12 Boats (03:07)
Went for the money, no way to please them all
Have had to go, it just felt so small.
Can't wait forever for someone to tuck you in
with no good name to lose you have everything to win
O man, when it's good it's great
when bad it's still OK
I'm just glad when it comes my way
Reached up to "god", the guy in control and said
"hey man listen, let's settle this once and for all"
sometimes silence, he said, is my way of saying no
but look twice and you're told everything in what I show
13 Uffe's Horrorshow (01:19)
A private horrorshow is playing in my head
Movie after movie until I am... dead!!!
14 Wreckage (04:01)
Say what? Well, come again
Do you think you can change it?
It's just a matter of time 'til it all will end
I'm a wreck - and so are you
We're all wrecked up
I got a date with the devil and so do you
Will our bad luck ever turn I doubt it man
I think we're destined to burn alive, yeah, we have lost
but you refuse to realise it at all cost
And the future's now - Isn't that tomorrow?
How can a man be so blind to see a wreck is the only way?
I'm a wreck!
Say what? Yeah well, come again
Do you think you can change it?
It's just a matter of time 'til it all will end
I'm a wreck - and we're all dead
We're all wrecked up
I'll be rockin' and rollin' in hell instead!
So put on a smile and I'll light the ignition
this is real life, it ain't cinemavision
And yeah, the time's right now - It will never be tomorrow!
Don't ask how I can fit six billion in my car
drive it off a cliff, go out like a dinosaur
Here I am balanced on the edge and it makes me fucking scared!
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