Deathbed – Obsolete Natural Composition

Deathbed is a Chilean oldschool-inspired Death Metal five-piece, in the vein of many of the great bands of old – From what I can gather, they seem to be gathering quite a substancial amount of influence from the likes of Nunslaughter, Obituary and Suffocation, if the sheer amount of fast-paced aggression on display is anything to go by. 

That being said however, the band still first saw the light of day back in 2006, and that does show in their excessive use of pig-squeal-adjacent growls alongside the more guttural vocals that I would normally associate with the three legends mentioned above. The end result, as of 2023, is their second Full-length release, Obsolete Natural Composition – A powerhouse of a performance, taking all of my favoured core aspects of the Death Metal genre, speed it up even further and with a strong focus on the simple yet effective guitar riffs throughout, expertly flanked by a drum kit hell-bent on taking over your heartbeat. In short, a pure adrenalin shot, perfect to burn of some excessive energy and/or aggression, aimed at a modern audience and aging fans of the genre (such as myself) alike.

In many ways, Deathbed seems to have what is takes to really become a very good live act – Good energy (at least recorded), an approach of treating each song as a self-contained experience unrelated to the next, allowing more freedom when it comes to putting together an efficient setlist and with a strongly recognizable, yet still definitely Death Metal sound. And just to clarify, I use the qualifier ‘seems’ solely due to the fact that I have yet to have the pleasure of seeing this quintet live – Here’s to hoping that they will grace the European festivals and venues sometime in the near future so that might change. 

Obsolete Natural Composition contains a grand total of seven tracks with a runtime of thirty-five minutes and change – And, in best old-fashioned Death Metal style, the tracks are heavily engrossed in themes of nihilism, causes of death and mental diseases of all sorts. So, as I said, strongly influenced by the titans that came before them, but still with enough tweaks and edges sanded off to make their music their own.

And on a personal note, I also enjoyed the fact that they deemed it proper to include a single track in their native language – The sixth one on the record, entitled “Muerte por incineración” (which is Spanish for ‘Death By Cremation’). The last six tracks are all recorded and performed in English, no doubt in order to appeal to a larger audience; And in the modern world, one can hardly hold that against them. 

https://deathbedchile.bandcamp.com/music 

https://www.facebook.com/deathbed.chile/