LIK – Misanthropic Breed – Album Review

These old school death metallers are indeed, a misanthropical breed, insatiable in their need to feed…..us high quality, Entombed inspired, SWEDISH DEATH METAL!

With their debut, Mass Funeral Evocation, and sophomore effort, Carnage, LIK have already blessed us with two of the most convincing old-school Swedish death metal releases in modern memory, so hopes were universally high for LIK’s Misanthropic Breed. 

And they have not let us down!

LIK have delivered a brutal buzz-sawed exercise in Swedish savagery which nostalgically recalls the heady days of Swedish death metal’s early 90s dominance. As heavily intimated, LIK – if you didn’t know already – are heavily influenced by Dismember, Bloodbath and the aforementioned Entombed and the barbaric brand of HM-2 riffing, fiendish melody and gore-obsessed groove which, inevitably, comes with them.

Keeping this style of death metal interesting after all these years is no easy feat but Misanthropic Breed really is top-tier Swedish death metal, overflowing with ideas and delivered with ‘maximum killing capacity’ in mind (the Dismember reference is entirely on purpose, of course).

While the brutality is clear to hear, the ultimate selling point of LIK’s latest outing is the abundance of Maiden-esque licks and subtle harmonies which temper the aggression and adds a welcome dose of diversity. In fact, you can consider Misanthropic Breed as mandatory a listen in 2020 as Skeletal Remains The Entanglement Of Chaos and Necrot’s Mortal; that’s how damn good it is! 8/10

LIK’s Misanthropic Breed was released on 25th September 2020 via Metal Blade Records.