On October 25th of last year, my pal Axl wrote an article panning the band Destrage. Things at the Mansion were busy that day and since Ax and I generally agree on music I took his word for it. Now, three months later, I’m sitting here listening to Destrage‘s The King is Fat and Old and I’m thinking, “Man, Axl really missed the boat on this one.”

I can see why a quick listen might result in Axl’s label of “Re-Swede;” there certainly are a few genre tropes from the Swedish melodeath scene of yore. But the similarities end there. Where Axl pejoratively used the above term, I’d positively refer to Destrage as “Post-Swede.” Seemingly everything on The King is Fat and Old takes what was done before and ups it to the next level; this record is faster, denser, rawer, more ambitious, weirder, even heavier than your father’s Swedish melodeath band.

Just listen to “Double Yeah” above; I really wouldn’t even call these guys melodic death metal… they’re so much more. Then again, “Jade’s Place” — the track Axl was commenting on — sounds nothing like the rest of the album, whatwith its bizarre Zombie electro-backbeat. But even this seemingly out-of-place tune isn’t without its moments.

As it turns out Destrage aren’t even Swedish; they’re from Italy, which seems to be turning into something of a metallic hot-bed these days. So hey, Axl (and you, loyal MS reader); check this album out! It rules. Download it on Amazon for only $8.99 if you’re so inclined.

-VN