Review: “River of Slumber” by Casket Dweller

Inspired by Gothic literature and the classic horror cinema of the 1940’s Greek Death Metal trio Casket Dweller invite the discerning listener into a world of darkness and decay with their debut album “River of Slumber“. Adorned by artwork from Ivan Agakechagias, the record has been four years in the making with the Athens based band first establishing themselves as a live force to be reckoned with on the underground scene in their homeland before committing their abominations to tape. Combining elements from Swedish, Dutch and Florida traditions of the genre with influences of Death, Pestilence and Asphyx found within the four walls of their crushing sound, guitarist George Karvouniaris and bassist Chris Pallas alongside drummer and vocalist Vangelis Deligiorgis have more than a dark tale to tell or so it seems…

An introduction to the soundtrack to the scariest movie never made “Chapters” provides an almost Wednesday 13 style moment of tongue in cheek humour before we enter the graveyard at midnight with “Dust Off the Shovel“. A rampage through old school riffs which has a sinister edged solo before the first verse, its has all the qualities of an old school demo with a rawness to it but doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Deligiorgis offers raspy, dry throated screams and powerful percussive battery which drive the band forward, the riffs from Karvouniaris pointing at some distinctive HM-2 worship. That perpetual forward motion continues into “He Rows” as the band capture the dark spirit of these tales of death, dying and the damned and pair them perfectly with cutting sonic abrasions. The rise and fall of this one gives it a nice pomp and circumstance with sinister swirling riffage as things take shape, the ripping vocals the sharpest piece in this box full of sharp objects. It’s a cold night in hell as “Fangs of the Vampire” hits, bringing with it the heat and intensity that is reminiscent of bands like Mortician or Frozen Soul. Another menacing and sinister malevolent creation this one continues the narrative of building riff driven atmospheric compositions with great flow and rhythms that will crack your skull and the evil laughter that the end of this one will send a chill down your spine in a Wishmaster kind of way.

Rising from the grave “Creatures of the Night” finds the band reaching circle pit inducing speed with swirling riffs and howling vocal refrains while still managing to shoehorn in a couple of groove laden passages and some Memoriam like drum fills. After that encouragement to snap your neck “Embalming Slime” slows things down with a weightier crush, sounding like a monolithic beast crawling from a tar pit during the opening refrains. That ominous introduction makes way for restless and relentless drumming from Deligiorgis, whose throat shredding vocals feel like he’s harnessing his inner Kieran Scott and in all fairness the DeathCollector front man would make a fantastic guest for the trio. The feedback at the end is almost brain haemorrhage inducing but serves a purpose by making “Burnt at the Stake” a conjoined twin never to be separated. At its black beating heart this one has a couple of old school solos with the Speed Metal leanings of bands like Sadistic Force which feels a little bit left field but doesn’t detract from the potency of its poison.

Arguably the finest of these twisted abominations is the vicious little ditty that is “Voodoo Incants“, a cut which finds the band at their darkest as they speak in tongues of occult ritual with warped soloing giving an otherworldly feel. Deligiorgis vocals are barked with venom spitting urgency, the bass line from Pallas capable of cleaving flesh from bone before the grand finale that is “Requiem” smashes the clock in fear. A driven old school Death Metal cut of supreme quality it’s broken after a couple of minutes by a spoken word moment which is followed by rising leads of majesty that give it an unexpected epic quality. An old school Death Metal record with a glorious nostalgic quality to it, this debut record from Casket Dweller is worth rising from the grave for as well as boding well for their next burnt offering [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Chapters
2. Dust Off the Shovel
3. He Rows
4. Fangs of the Vampire
5. Creatures of the Night
6. Embalming Slime
7. Burnt at the Stake
8. Voodoo Incants
9. Requiem

“River of Slumber” by Casket Dweller is out 22nd October 2026 via Nuclear Winter Records and is available over at bandcamp