Just because Sweden is the top tier country for death metal nowadays (And the past), that doesn't mean that the States doesn't have any bands waving the flag of filthy, old-school ancient metal of death, because there are quite a few and Macabra happens to be one of the best I've come across. Their brand of early Autopsy worship meets Craig Pillard and some random black metal musician hailing from a very grim and evil forest is fantastic.
As mentioned earlier, the vocals here are very reminiscent of Craig Pillard and even have a touch of Karl Willetts thrown in for good measure, as they smother the listener and add even more heaviness to the music on "Blood-Nurtured Nature." But there is also some more guttural and raspy vocals that come and go as they please, which goes back to that battleaxe-wielding, corpse paint wearing guy from the forest who slipped his way into the recording studio. The mix of these vocals mesh together very well and it shows, especially on the songs "Blood-Nurtured Nature" and "Exile of Sanity." The Pillard-esque vocals command the midpaced assault to perfection and then our friend from the forest adds a more uneasy, and evil feel to the music which sounds terrific.
Riff-wise, Macabra resemble "Severed Survival" era Autopsy and that is definitely a positive factor here. The midpaced riffs chug along and retain an extremely old-school and raw feel that will have the listener reminiscing, remembering the first time they heard "Charred Remains" while simultaneously headbanging to tracks like "Consuming the Fleshy Wax" and "Fragments of Torpor." The band also has some of that doom influence that Autopsy did, though to a less extent. The intro to "Hominal Peel Daggers" is some grade A sludgy, riffing that eventually turns into an onslaught of great riff after great riff.
In addition to the midpaced Autopsy lovefest that occurs, that sneaky Norwegian makes his presence felt again, as there are several instances where a piano or some other kind of ambiance is added to the music, though it isn't a very prominent part of the music or overbearing, therefore it doesn't bother me. At the end of the day, "Blood-Nurtured Nature" is already a front runner for the death metal album of the year and anyone looking for something new, yet ridiculously old-school and wants something other than the Swedeath worshiping bands, then Macabra is the band for you.
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Highlights
"Hominal Peel Daggers"
"Consuming the Fleshy Wax"
"Exile of Sanity"
Final Rating
4.5/5 or 90%.