Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement, As the Shroud of...

Talk about one hell of a debut from a band that consists of just two dudes. With As the Shroud of Suffering Suffocates the Land Jay Barnes (vocals) and Jordan Varela (guitars, bass, drums), both of Lust of Decay, have created quite a beast of an album. Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement (SCE) aren’t your typical brainless grind and pummel variant death metal act. There is a good deal of restrained and controlled song structure on their debut release.

Varela’s instrumentation and writing is thick and layered with bone crushing riffs, intestine shredding leads, and enough double bass to raise to level a city. Combine this musical monstrosity with Barnes’ flowing guttural cadence and you’ve got a deep rooted groove that goes beyond your normal extreme death release. Instead of hacking away blindly these two have flayed the flesh from the bone with enough artistry to make even Hannibal Lecter envious.

I enjoyed the hell out of this album, but still have a minor complaint. I’m all for a themed release — it helps tie all the songs together into a cohesive story. To put it simply, I could have done without the samurai battle sound clips after every track. It would be nice to have here and there, used sparingly, but when we hear near identical clips in between each track it gets a little old. Like I said, it’s a small gripe so don’t let it sway you from picking up this album.

As the Shroud of Suffering Suffocates the Land
The title track starts off with a short clip of some oriental music before Varela opens up with some intense, driving blasts from the drums. Barnes’ vocals are brutal, guttural and indecipherable — perfect for this album. The chorus is catchy and has layered vocals from Barnes that are both from the deeper realm and a higher pitched shriek. The riffs on this one are pretty technical as is the drumming.

Ascension of Nobunaga
The samurai theme continues with this take on the rise of a war lord. The timing on the riffs and drums makes for one hell of a catchy opening. Adding Barnes’ layered vocals and cadence should have you head banging in no time. The leads are pretty melodic, yet still pretty devastating.

Screams of the Genma
Coming in at over five minutes in length, “Screams of the Genma” is the longest track on the disc. It’s also one of the stand out songs on an album full of good material. The drumming is precise and deadly. The riffs keep the blood flowing as Barnes screams. There are a few, slow breakdown-like sections that help steady the pace. There’s a good bit of creative timing starting at about the 3:40 mark in the song.

As the Rising Sun Bleeds
A Cannibal Corpse inspired riffs leads this one off. This one is methodical in it’s pace and full of evil. Again, layered vocals from Barnes really complete this song.

Resurrection of the Oni
More driving drum blasts and eviscerating riffs keep the blood flying as Barnes’ growls away on another story of samarai lore. Valera continues to impress, working all of the instruments creatively. There is some classic death riffing going on in this one.

Transcending the Flesh
I love the thrash fueled start to this one right before Valera decides to destroy his drums by beating the living hell out of them. More layered vocals make this one a favorite track.

Breaking the Stranglehold of the Apocalypse
The pace and cadence of this track is great! It’s definitely one of the more disemboweling tracks. If you’re not a fan of the band after this track, then maybe you should go grab your littler sister’s album from the latest boy band.

Unleashing the Tides of War
Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement slow it down a little bit after the initial, opening blast with some catchy (and somewhat melodic) guitar work. The small breakdowns throughout the track make it a standout effort.

Crumbling the Throne of the Fallen
The final track is just as cataclysmic as the rest of the album. Barnes and Valera have wrapped this release up nicely with this song. It ends with a similar sound clip that opened up the album.

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Sure, Shuriken Cadaveric Entwinement aren’t reinventing the wheel with their debut release, but they have proved more than worthy of some praise with this album. Valera’s song writing is impressive and Barnes works like a son of a bitch behind the microphone. As the Shroud of Suffering Suffocates the Land is a sweeping and epic death metal release that needs to be on everyone’s shelves.

Favorite Tracks:
Screams of the Genma
Transcending the Flesh
Breaking the Stranglehold of the Apocalypse
Unleashing the Tides of War

Additional Notes:
N/A