ALBUM REVIEW: Dååth - The Deceivers

Of all the albums that have arrived in the review box in 2024, few piqued the curiosity like this one. The name Dååth was buried back in the late 2000s, with the band’s last release the self-titled fourth album in 2010. A 13-year hiatus is ended with the arrival of The Deceivers, and I’ll wager a five-pound note that this will end up in the top ten at the end of the year. Technical, orchestral, intense, and rich in melody, this is an album that provides an over-the-top delivery that works on every level. Nine songs that feature numerous guest musicians alongside the now established new line-up, The Deceivers is simply astonishing in so many ways. Dååth were founded by guitarist Eyal Levi in 1999, and over a decade, they forged a reputation which saw them join tours with Cattle Decapitation, Dark Funeral, Cynic, Nile, Slayer, Dragonforce, Goatwhore, Chimaira, Dying Fetus, and Devildriver. When the band started its hiatus, Levi threw himself into production before forming Unstoppable Recording Machine, a school that teaches metal music production, and its sister school, Riffhard, that teaches metal guitar, and helped turn them into hugely successful businesses. I’m not going to regurgitate the history but suffice that Levi’s return to the band he founded, and the signing with the most apt label in Metal Blade all makes sense. Alongside Levi is vocalist Sean Zatorsky, who has sung with the band since 2007. His delivery is brutal, an aggressive tour de force in death growling roars, that cascade throughout the release. 

Alongside Levi and Zatorsky, the line-up is completed Kerim “Krimh” Lechner on drums, Jesse Zuretti on orchestration and guitar, lead guitarist Rafael Trujillo and bassist David Marvuglio. Guest guitar solos are contributed across numerous tracks by Jeff Loomis (Nevermore, Arch Enemy); Mark Holcomb (Periphery); Dean Lamb (Archspire); Per Nilsson; (Scar Symmetry, Meshuggah); Spiro Dussias (Platonist), and Dan Sugarman (Ice Nine Kills), with renowned video game composer Mick Gordon (Doom Eternal) contributing sound design and synth to Purified by Vengeance.

It's an album that is both immediate and a grower, demanding repeated listens to absorb the intricate playing, the subtle flicks, the layered synth work, and the explosive drumming of Krimh, the engine room behind Septicflesh and ex-Decapitated. With all members contributing fully, including the writing process, this is very much an organic and cohesive unit that is still finding its way. For them to release an album of such high quality demonstrates the talent involved. Opening track, No Rest No End starts with a pulverising pattern, and whilst the tempo doesn’t let up for a minute throughout the songs, there is room to breathe, to listen, and absorb. The mix of classical and orchestral elements with more expected technical death metal is an interesting concept, and whilst it might not always work, here it fits neatly together. 

Dååth - photo by Stephaine Cabral

Single Hex Unending allows cleansing opportunities, as Zatorsky explains. “It’s about shedding skin, cleansing the old me; reinventing, and carving a new path vocally, physically, and mentally. This song needed to be front and centre on the record”. Few bands can integrate orchestral movements with the extreme, Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse two that do it admirably, and whilst Dååth don’t have the same dramatic heights that the Greeks and Italians achieve, that’s purely because they play a different style. But dive into the likes of Purified by Vengeance and you’ll see exactly what Dååth can do. It’s a dramatic and explosive track, surrounded by similar excellence. 

In fact, it’s an album that I just can’t stop playing. Absorbing the flowing energy on songs like Deserving the Grave is an experience that needs to be repeated regularly to fully enjoy. It may be 13 years since the last album, but this demonstrates that all things come to him who waits. Perhaps the last word here belongs with the main man. “We're taking this to its full potential, letting nothing and nobody stand in our way. If you're not going all out, what's the point?"

The Deceivers is released on 3rd May on Metal Blade Records

Review by Hutch