Drawn and Quartered – “The One Who Lurks” [Album Review]

Being drawn and quartered was a punishment imposed in England upon those found guilty of high treason. It involved being “drawn” by a horse to the site of public execution, the cutting of the abdomen and “drawing” of the internal organs to be placed into the fire, and the subsequent “quartering” of the body to be placed in different parts of the country as signs to would-be traitors who did not witness the execution. It’s a horrific and barbaric medieval punishment that the band Drawn and Quartered from the United States sees as a fitting moniker that describes their style of music, largely that of dark death metal, and their latest album, The One Who Lurks, follows along the same path of their past releases.

Drawn and Quartered’s style on The One Who Lurks leans heavily on stylistic similarities with revered death metal institution Incantation. The manic-depressive, stop-go, slow-fast, doom-death style Drawn and Quartered uses is unmistakably similar, but they succeed in making it their own. The band are in top form, particularly when interspersing the blast sections with varying mid-tempo to slow segments that feature dissonance and some familiar signature-Incantation guitar squealing.

Stream the song “Deliverance to the Worms” right here.

The opening track starts things off slowly before the band starts blasting out of the gates on the second and subsequent songs. In spite of the onslaught of blistering tempos on some numbers, these sections are usually balanced-out by sections of dissonant breakdowns. The title track is a bit of a divergence from some of the raging blastbeats-infused numbers, as it is primarily slow. However, when it does pick up the pace, the rung notes create an infusion of suffocating, dark atmosphere that makes the track aptly-titled.

A high reverb, low bass sound system set-up would be a wise choice to experience music on The One Who Lurks. Better than a digital copy that will be played on a sound system used primarily for modern bass-heavy music, an analog copy outputted through stereo speakers would be highly ideal. The reason behind this is the production utilized for this style of death metal, if played on equipment with higher than average bass and treble, would suffer after said equipment drowns out the dense wall of sound. The exceptionally low guttural growls on The One Who Lurks could also potentially be buried in the bass and treble.

Since you’re already here, check out the band’s video for “Hail Infernal Darkness”.

Fans drawn to the band’s sound will love to push the needle on their turntable many times over as they discover Drawn and Quartered records of old. Their 2012 full-length, Feeding Hell’s Furnace, was a memorable point in their long tenure as a band; it was perhaps, arguably, the most memorable. Many fans will be glad to know that Drawn and Quartered continue the steady gait of quality releases with their latest, The One Who Lurks. Let’s hope it’s not the last.

The One Who Lurks Track Listing:

01. Nefarious Rites
02. Ravage The Cadaver
03. Horned Shadows Rise
04. Deliverance to the Worms
05. Temples of Arcane Devotion
06. Carnal Transmigration
07. The One Who Lurks
08. Portals of Communion

Run Time: 40:30
Release Date: July 27, 2018
Record Label: Krucyator Productions