Band:	Neckbreakker
Album:	Within The Viscera
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	December 06, 2024
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Horizon Of Spikes
02. Putrefied Body Fluid
03. Shackled To A Corpse
04. Nephilim
05. Purgatory Rites
06. Unholy Inquisition
07. Absorption
08. SILO
09. Face-Splitting Madness

Neckbreakker seems like an appropriate band name, I'd say. But let's see what state your neck will be left in after headbanging yourself senseless to this relentless death metal debut.

Neckbreakker (aka Nakkeknaekker) are a Danish death metal band established recently in 2020. The band's style is mostly rooted in OSDM, inspired by bands such as Entombed, Morbid Angel, and Bloodbath, but also contains modern -core influences, primarily deathcore. Following two rough demos, the band have now unleashed their full-length debut Within The Viscera.

Within The Viscera has quite a varied style, sandwiched between Scandinavian-style OSDM and modern, hard-hitting deathcore. The rhythm section (courtesy of bassist Sebastian Rohden Knoblauch and drummer Anton "Hajn" Bregendorf) often varies between semi-groovy to chugging patterns, with the tempo regularly shifting from mid to rapid. This often finishes with Earth-crushing breakdowns. The guitar work (performed by duo Joakim Kaspersen and Johan Lundvig) alternates between brutal slamming, lightly-technical, and sometimes quite groovy OSDM riffs, with occasional striking solos. The vocals are performed by Christoffer Kofoed in a regular harsh manner, mostly in the form of deathcore shouts and occasional beastly growls. This isn't an unusual formula for a five-man death metal band, however.

Now, with the songwriting, I can't say there's anything that'll blow your mind. The riffs do contain a certain amount of groove, as expected, but there's just not quite enough here to keep you hooked. The rhythm does just enough to get you motivated and moving, but you don't quite get the urgency to bang your head senseless. The vocals aren't badly performed by any means; they do the job. However, that's as far as it goes, and, after a time, they seem to get a tad bit monotonous. The structure is mostly standard OSDM, but there are sudden deathcore-like breakdowns, which generally go hand-in-hand with the deathcore-style vocals. These several moments add an overwhelming sense of brutality but are few and far between. It feels like they could have capitalized more on these elements, if I'm totally honest. The best factor of all, for me, is the guitar tone. "Face-Splitting Madness" is the best example of how that classic Swedish OSDM buzzsaw sound still feels immortal even in modern day death metal. This guitar sound has been an essential ingredient since the dawn of death metal, and it continues to be so.

Within The Viscera is an adequate start to Neckbreakker's career, but I'm still left with the impression that they certainly have more to give. Even though this is far from a debut to be remembered for years to come, and there's nothing out-of-this-world in terms of songwriting, the musicians have still managed to pull off a fine and all-round performance. This shows the band are certainly competent enough and have the potential to make it big in the Danish death metal scene. But they still have a long way to go if they hope to reach the high standards of Asinhell and Baest.