Review of Mask of Malice by Lay Down Rotten

1. Death-Chain

2. A Darker Shade of Hatred

3. Nightfall

4. Mask of Malice

5. …And Out Come the Wolves

6. Swallow the Bitterness

7. Hades Resurrected

8. The Devil Grins

9. La Serpenta Canta

10. The Loss

Mask of Malice is Lay Down Rotten’s sixth studio album and third album under Metal Blade Records. They entered Desert-Inn Studio in September 2011 to record the album, the same place they have previously recorded. Mask Of Malice is the first album with new guitarist Daniel “Kensington” Seifert, as Daniel Jakobi left last year due to lack of time dedicated to the band caused by his other job and musical projects. The band has played many festivals such as Summer Breeze Open Air, Fuck The Commerce, and Neurotic Death Fest. They also played with many bands such as Disbelief, Hatesphere, Dismembr, and Neaera.

Having not heard of these before I didn’t know what I was getting into but they proved to be better than I expected. The album brings heavy riffs but also has melodic bits that comes standard in European death metal. The drums are a mix of fast paced pounding and slow breakdown like bits. I’m not in tune with different styles of death metal vocals but they seem quite good. My favourite three tracks are Mask of Malice, …And Out Come the Wolves and Hades Resurrected. They may not be my kind of band, but you like death metal be sure to check out this album!