Lectern – Deheadment for Betrayal

Call me impressed. I have never heard of this band before, but everything about this band from Italy is what I love about Death Metal. Good production, great riffs, killer vocals and an overall great package. The lead guitar work leaves more to be desired, but it does nothing to change my mind about this great album. Whenever I hear a band for the first time, I imagine how they would sound live. Lectern is definitely a band I would love to see live. They have some slow chugging riffs that would probably shake the venue apart.

From the first track I was hooked. Stand out tracks are definitely “Daedal of thy Wrath” and “Perturb in Lamb Thronal.” The latter having a definite Morbid Angel feel, which in my books is always a plus point when done correctly. Death metal at its finest? Probably not. Great death metal? Most definitely! These guys definitely know what old-school Death Metal is all about, and it shows in each track. From start to finish I was wishing I had heard of this band before. In a nutshell, “Deheadment for Betrayal” is a great album that I will for sure have on my playlist for some time to come, and most definitely be checking out their older material.

I find it quite unfair that the Death Metal scene is so oversaturated. My reasoning is that if this album was released at the same time as Morbid Angel’s “Blessed are the Sick”, or Obituary’s “End Complete”, it would have been an instant classic. But because of the oversaturation, this album will be unheard to so many people that would absolutely love it. So the world goes on, but at least I got to hear this great album and I hope it reaches the hands of all that need to hear it. This album deserves it. (Pazuzu)