I have had a cursory experience with this Danish death metal band’s second album in 2012 which was a decent if uneventful effort that didn’t leave any lasting impressions as I now have their fourth album for review purposes having missed out on their third album and an EP during the interim period. Deus Otiosus are a brutal band, their fourth savagely erupts unceremoniously with opening track ‘Kneel’ which possesses a blackened edge to the riffing that I particularly liked about this release coupled to the blazing lead work that is scattered throughout as well. The sound on the album is razoring, with the guitar sound being especially scathing, possessing a glistening serratedness that owes more to thrash than death metal as the album maintains its assault with ‘Disturbing The Dead’.

That thrashiness comes to the fore on ‘Haunter’ as the song stamps firmly on the accelerator with a snapping snare tempo with grisly vocals but what I like about this album is the sudden and often abrupt changes in pace usually followed by a blitzing lead break. Vocally the album sticks to a death growl and could benefit from some variation but they suit atmosphere generally as the song shifts into a supremely catchy riff that will hook you in with consummate ease. The same can be said of ‘Towering Flames’ which is initially slower but also has a melodious hook and blackened feathering on the edges of the song in addition to a light sprinkling of keyboards. The title track returns the album back to death metal with intermittent blasting blending with the torrent of double bass but like the other songs it is also balanced by fluctuating tempo dynamics.

‘Return To Slavery’ is chaotic, favouring a venomous assault via ravenous riffs that assail the listener in waves as the lead breaks entangle the song in moments of controlled pandemonium to good effect. Musically this is a very good album with only the vocals limiting the release as a whole which is a minor point that could be addressed for the next release but those favouring the growling style for all their music will not be fussed but those wanting variation will tire of the constant bellowing growls which are genuinely good but narrowly focussed. Overall this is a pounding mix of deathly thrash with first-rate song writing capturing undulating tempo shifts and scorching lead breaks something that extreme metal seems to forget about these days.