Rotting Paradise

Coldworker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 13, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relapse
• ASIN: B0015L5AOE
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,234 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Reversing The Order

2. Citizens of the Cyclopean Maze

3. Symptoms of Sickness

4. The Black Dog Syndrome

5. Comatose State

6. Paradox Lost

7. The Last Bitter Twist

8. Seizures

9. The Machine

10. I am the Doorway

11. Scare Tactics

12. Deliverance of the Rejected

Editorial Reviews

Review

Recommended if you like: BEHEMOTH, CANNIBAL CORPSE, ARCH ENEMY, NASUM, AT THE GATES, DECAPITATED, CARCASS --Relapse

a perfect balance between insane brutality and intelligent song craft, Coldworker are masters of all tempos....every last song is a classic. --Kerrang!

Product Description

Rotting Paradise, the second full-length from COLDWORKER, sees the quintet (led by founding NASUM player Anders Jakobson) evolving into a finely tuned Swedish death metal machine. Rotting Paradise overwhelms with twelve measured beatings, balancing the brutality of modern death metal, ferocious vocal bellows, and distinctly European flourishes of metallic grandeur. Without question, Rotting Paradise is the quintessential Swedish death metal album for a new century of extremity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brutal onslaught!, July 15, 2008

By 

Drifter "Duster 39" (Texas,USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rotting Paradise (Audio CD)

Not knowing anything about this band. I took a chance when I got this cd. Let me say I was not dissappointed at all. The cover art similar to Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' I decided to see if they rated. This is a very brutal,heavy,pounding cd that does'nt let up from start to finish. I could tell from the first song I had found a good one. I guess they would be called deathcore but have the makings of a top rated death metal band like Suffocation in my opinion. A great cd for metal fans that like a ear pounding of brutal sonic assualt.

5.0 out of 5 stars (4.5 stars) Mmm...satisfying!, February 16, 2011

By 

A. Stutheit "Teyad" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rotting Paradise (Audio CD)

Coldworker formed out of the ashes of seminal Swedish grinders Nasum, and their first debut, 2007's "Contaminated Void," was a strong and promising one. 2008'S "Rotting Paradise," finds the collective more-or-less continuing down the same path that they started down a year ago, only with a few more traditional death metal influences this time around. Ergo, you can bet anything that it ais well-stocked with breakneck tempos, top-notch technicality, guitar riffage that is as excellent as it is huge, destructive rhythms, blistering blast beats, and brutal bass lines that are always prominent in the mix. But those things are a given -- in fact, it almost seems redundant to say (because it should be so obvious) that those things are still the main ingredients. That said, such brutality may make initially easy to miss, but there are a few slight tweaks in sound present here. Once you crack the album's shell (by giving it repeat listens), it is clear that the band adopted surprisingly matured songwriting. (It may seem shocking, but there actually are a few varied tempos this time around -- and they work very well!) As a result, "RS" is a superbly-executed slab of disorienting death metal/grindcore chaos with respectable amounts of groove, catchiness, infectious melody, air-guitar-worthy guitar acrobatics, seething breakdowns, and restrained sections mixed in for good measure. (For an idea of the sound, think along the lines of Morbid Angel, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Aborted, Terrorizer, Circle Of Dead Children, and Cannibal Corpse.)

The Vader-reminiscent "Reversing The Order" does exactly what a grindcore set opener should: Tear your head clean off your shoulders. It is similar to the song "The Black Dog Syndrome" in that they both tracks are blinding blitzkriegs of frothing, streamlined chainsaw riffage, breakneck, carnage-inducing drum slamming, and venomous, puke-stained, Cooke Monster deathly bellows. On the flip, though, the intro to "Citizens Of The Cyclopean Maze" is so slow and foreboding that it is guaranteed to raise the hairs on backs of necks. Also note that there is always still quiet a lot of crafty and tasteful melodic guitar leads scattered throughout, giving off and epic feel, and helping to distance Coldworker from those who are hopelessly tuneless. Back on the bludgeoning side again, tracks three and five, "Symptoms Of Sickness" and "Comatose State," are two pieces of Napalm Death/Lock Up-worthy, no-holds-barred grind; and they are both good showcases for skinsman Anders Jakobson's mind-boggling talent. In fact, they alone are proof enough that this man can play with the best of `em. He fills the bottom-end with booming, jackhammer-fast grindcore blasting. (And the real kicker to the story is that Jakobson uses only one foot!) Also, pay special attention to "Comatose State," which opens up for a wonderfully infectious, delicious, ripping, winding, wailing, ascending and descending guitar solo. Simply put, this solo is easily one of the finest this reviewer has had the pleasure of hearing lately. It is plenty long, epic, and technical, but does not cross the line into self-indulgent; and it is simultaneously blistering and soulfully melodic. "Paradise Lost " is another one of the biggest standout tracks on hand here because its tempo and slowly gnawing guitars are positively ominous, sinister, and brooding (!).

"The Last Bitter Twist" is steady, Slayer-inspired death-grind beating with a deep, steamrolling groove peppered by well-placed (and dare-I-say almost "catchy") pinch harmonics. "Seizures" plays like a full-on thrasher, and features an excellent, memorable bass intro and more insane drumming. Things again become a bit more experimental again with the inclusion of. "The Machine," whose first two-minutes are almost painfully slow. Inevitably, though, the song gets turned on its head rockets you into frenetic grindcore chaos. Its successor, "I Am The Doorway," with restrained, chugging guitars, smart, math-y, stop-on-a-dime tempo change, and extended, doom-flavored breakdown, breaks even more new ground. The album nears its end soon thereafter, but never fear, because Coldworker are sure to put the listener back on familiar ground before wrapping up. The aptly-entitled "Scare Tactics" (which has fiery melodic soloing akin to Vomitory, Behemoth, and the like), and "Deliverance Of The Rejected" abide by a scorched-earth policy. They are both viciously brutal and played at cut-throat speeds.

On the downside, despite all of its maturity, one would not be completely out-of-line to point out that level of musicianship hasn't improved. (That's forgivable, though, because Coldworker's instrumental prowess was always stellar. In fact, that sounds almost redundant to say because it is so obvious.) So, in the end, "Rotting Paradise" will not interest many (if any) new listeners, and it cannot be said to be an exactly expansive affair, but it is surely a strong and memorable one. Plus, it cements Coldworker's status as one of grindcore's best new supergroups, and also simultaneously creates an important and substantial amount of distance out of Nasum's long shadow.