adg211288 If you're a regular reader of my reviews then you may have noticed one thing about my tastes in metal: death metal and I don't exactly have a stable relationship. I like a good few technical and progressive death metal bands, but the kind of death metal act that gets branded as 'old school' and I generally aren't best buddies. There are exceptions of course, such as Krypts (from Finland), Sulphur Aeon, and Wound (both from Germany). Another band that impressed me a few years ago was the Danish act Deus Otiosus. The album was Rise (2014), and its semi-thrashy old school death metal sound really stood out to me compared to other, similarly branded bands and albums I was trying out, such as the then quite hyped up Abysmal Thresholds by Corpsessed, where the music seemed to just be a bunch of songs that blurred together with little to no identity between them.

Opposer (2017) is the follow-up to that album, the band's fourth full-length overall, and it brings more of the same to the table, though it doesn't have quite as pronounced a thrash metal edge to their riffs this time around. Though not as strong as Rise, it's clear that the Danes haven't lost what made them stand out before with this latest offering. They write good riffs instead of totally forgettable ones as per most death metal acts trying too hard to be old school and in Anders Bo Rasmussen they have a vocalist whose growls can actually be followed really quite well and being able to discern their lyrics makes all the difference in making Deus Otiosus's songs memorable. Many death metal bands just want to be as brutal as possible. Some are even good at that. But the individual songs nearly always end up being so totally forgettable that they just can't seem to make an album that leaves a lasting impression. Deus Otiosus rise above that and there's no danger of it happening to them.

Opposer is another solid death metal outing from Deus Otiosus, a band who many others professing to play the same game could learn a thing of three from. A rare band existing within a genre that often seems completely stale that manages to take the same formula as others and make it sound as if its as natural as breathing. I'm confident that come the end of the year Opposer will still stand tall as one of 2017's best old school death metal albums. In fact so far even its only one of two that's even registered on my interest, the other being Wound's Engrained that I still need to check out, but have a lot of confidence in after their excellent debut Inhale the Void (2013). The difference between Wound and Deus Otiosus? Wound's album has been out since January and it's been on my 'meaning to get around to it' list since then. I rushed to Bandcamp to hear Opposer the second I realised a new Deus Otiosus album had been released. I find it really sad how few people still seem to know about them. To my ears they deserve to be considered field leaders of their genre, though I guess 'hidden gem' isn't a bad distinction to have either.

UMUR "Murderer" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish death metal act Deus Otiosus. The album was released in Europe through F.D.A. Rekotz in August 2010 (and through American Line Productions in Mexico) but it wasn´t until March 2011 that the album saw a worldwide release (also through F.D.A. Rekotz).

The music on the album is old school death metal with the occasional nod towards raw thrash metal. The latter is especially true when it comes to the atonal screaming soloing, but there are also a couple of thrashy riffs here and there featured on the album. Mostly this is an old school death metal album though, with brutal growling vocals, relatively simple and catchy tracks with heavy downtuned riffing and a rhythm section that varies pace from doomy to fast-paced. The sound production is clear (not to be confused with clean) and powerful, which means that you can hear all instruments clearly in the mix. The musicianship is solid although I could have wished for a less monotone growling style. A little more variation and bite in the vocal department could have made the album a little more interesting.

While "Murderer" to my ears is not a perfect death metal release, it´s still an enjoyable and powerful album by Deus Otiosus and fans of old school death metal should find lots to enjoy here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

Time Signature Don't fuck with the dead...

Genre: death metal

Having more than survived the perils of releasing a sophomore album in the form of 2012's "Godless", the Danish death metal act recently released their third full-length album "Rise".

If "Godless" was a death metal masterpiece, then we need a word for something that's even better than a masterpiece. On "Godless", Deus Otiosus went back to the roots of death metal, shaving away anything that resembled contemporary death metal cheese, and started molding the core of death metal proper into something truly amazing. On "Rise", the Danish deathsters take their music to an even higher level. The listener is treated to old school death metal riffs, and this album has a stronger thrashy edge than the predecessor, which works brilliantly. Intertwined with these death-thrash elements are occasional blastbeats. Unlike many other extreme death metal acts, Deus Otiosus do not overuse blastbeats, so every single grindcore-oriented passage hits you like a bullet train. What is more, they are not afraid to inject a bit of melody into their onslaught of death metal madness, as heard in 'Fall of the West'.

Apart from their mastery of old school aesthetics, Deus Otiosus understand the power of the riff and they are not only excellent riffsmiths but also excellent songwriters, and the musicianship is top notch. The production is unpolished, but not lo-fi and suits the music very well.

"Rise" is another bull's eye from Deus Otiosus, and, frankly, this is one of the best death metal releases I have ever heard.

adg211288 As a reviewer, I like cover a variety of different metal genres, but I think every reviewer probably has a few areas they're less comfortable reviewing in. The death metal genre, with the exception of the technical and progressive kinds, is one of mine. Not because I don't enjoy the genre, but because I find that a lot of the artist's music tends to blur together pretty quickly, making it hard to tell one artist from another. I find it rare to find anything that really stands out enough in either a positive or a negative light in order to write much about it. Rise (2014), which is the third full-length album by Danish death metal act Deus Otiosus, is therefore a nice surprise, being instantly attention grabbing and memorable. Not descriptions I can apply to most death metal releases I (try to) cover.

Stylistically Rise is death metal with an occasionally overt thrashy edge to it, as in a track like Iron Rule. The production is neither overly raw or given too much modern polish which allows the details of the riffs to stand out without losing any grit along the way. The vocals tend to veer between being easy to discern the lyrics and not, which is a small issue as it does make some songs stand out over others, but I don't think that Deus Otiosus have any weak tracks on their hands here. The songs generally stick with me long after the release has come to an end, especially ones like the opening Rising War, Walk The Shadows and my personal favourites Don't Fuck with the Dead and Fall of the West, the latter of which I think is actually quite an epic sounding track.

While bands like Deus Otiosus don't really offer up anything to break any moulds, they prove that they know what they're doing and have produced a strong album made up of plenty of interesting and well played riffs that instantly makes the band stand out from the crowd of other death metal acts, especially the ones that pointedly try to be old school. In short, Rise is some really excellent and highly recommended stuff. 4.5 Stars.

89/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/deus-otiosus-rise-t3661.html)

Time Signature Cast from heaven...

Genre: old school death metal

They say that the second album is always difficult and that it is rarely as good as the debut. Well, I gotta tell you that the Danish death metal act Deus Otiosus did not have this problem, as their second album "Godless" is much better than their debut (and their debut was very good).

If you have read our interview with the band, you know that they are an old school death metal band, and old school death metal is what you get here. And not just old school death metal but fucking awesome old school death metal performed by skilled musicians who know exactly what they want. "Godless" strikes me as being considerably more thrash-oriented than their debut (the opening track "Snakes of the Low" is an all out death-thrash attack), as Deus Otiosus successfully make a snapshot of what death metal sounded like in its very early days back when it was in the transition from thrash metal into becoming death metal. Thus is one of the aspects that I really like about this album, and fans of very early death metal acts like Obituary, Necrophagia, and Sepultura are bound to love this album.

But Deus Otiosus are more than just a retro band, as the production is totally up-to-date and, in addition to a couple of modern elements such as blastbeats, the Danes are not afraid to incorporate elements from other extreme metal genres into their overall sound. Thus 'Snakes of the Low' features some quite black metal-oriented elements that pop up side-by-side with old school death and thrash riffage (this also applies to 'Pest Grave' although this one is more of a blend of Stockholm-oriented death metal and speed metal). 'In Harms Way' is another almost thrashy death metal track which has the same sort of marching drive as Cianide's 'Curse of the Dead'. 'Surrounded by the Dead' and the waltzy and almost strangely psyhedelic 'Death Dance' (which is probably the most original track on the album) belong in the heavier department, and, although fundamentally uptempo, 'Face the Enemy' features a couple of heavy grooves, too, while 'Cast from Heaven' features some melodic blackened-death oriented guitar figures some of which even have a strange kind of neoclassical feel to them.

Listening to the album, there can be no doubt that the five musicians are very experienced, and the crisp production should appeal to fans of more modern metal. This does not mean that the album sounds sterile at all - the more organic feel that characterized many early death metal releases has also found its way onto this album.

Old school death metal taken in a direction towards originality, Deus Otiosus' sophomore album should appeal to fans of death metal the way it sounded in its very early days, but those who like modern day old school metal to be more than just retro should definitely also find this album very attractive.

In short, Deus Otiosus' "Godless" is a treat for any fan of old school death metal.