Longtime readers of AMG may remember the last time German OSDM stalwarts Slaughterday graced these digital pages. It was long enough ago that EPs were still getting the full-on review treatment, which enabled Slaughterday’s second release, Ravenous, to land a respectable 3.0/5.0 rating. What I was surprised to discover was the lack of any additional coverage, despite Slaughterday dropping three subsequent long players since then—Laws of the Occult (2016), Ancient Death Triumph (2020), and Tyrants of Doom (2022). Whether this fact boils down to a lack of promo or a lack of interest is irrelevant, considering I was able to wrestle Slaughterday’s newest offering of odorous offal, Dread Emperor, from the murkiest depths of the sump. For a band that’s been cranking out consistently quality death metal since forming in 2010, it’s strange to me that this power duo doesn’t get more attention. Let’s find out whether Slaughterday is truly worthy to ascend the death metal throne, or if this Dread Emperor stands before us in the buff.
Monikered after a track from Mental Funeral, it’s unsurprising that Slaughterday establishes its soundation on the works of Autopsy. Avoiding mere clone status, though, founders Jens Finger (guitars, bass) and Bernd Reiners (drums, vocals) also line their sonic quiver with arrows laced with toxic amounts of Massacre, early Death, and Grave. After a doomy, engaging intro, Dread Emperor gets down to thrashy business as “Obliteration Crusade” comes galloping through the gates at full velocity. Showcasing the gamut of talents that Slaughterday wields, the track weaves bouts of blistering speed, salaciously solid solo work, and passages of drunken, doomy Autopsy worship into a skin-sewn tapestry of death, replete with creepy melodicism and a subtle, yet ear-wormy chorus. Finger’s bass lines pop like blood bubbles as Reiners’ brutish bashings bolster the rhythm section, aptly accompanying the man’s beastly roars, a discernibly deathly emulsion of Peter Tägtgren and Kam Lee. This opening salvo encapsulates the Dread Emperor experience, which is one of gut-wrenching goodness, proving that Slaughterday has as many musical tricks up its sleeve as Art the Clown has weapons in his kill sack.
At the heart of Dread Emperor’s success lies Slaughterday’s ability to craft truly great death metal songs. And with this talent, Finger and Reiners pay apt tribute to their deathly influences without slipping into derivative mimicry. Every time the groove settled into a swarming swing full of Autopsy swagger (“Subconscious Pandemonium,” “The Forsaken Ones”), my head was powerless to stop bobbing. While the majestic, Egyptian-tinged melodic leads and girthy, doom-laden death riffs of the title track “Dread Emperor” solidified themselves as the album highlight for yours truly. Dread Emperor also doubles down on a facet of Slaughterday’s previous efforts that, at times, was found lacking: the guitar solo. Fingers leaves no fret untouched, packing tons of excellent, melodic soloing (“Astral Carnage,” “Necrocide”) and loads of haunting lead work (“Rapture of Rot”) into Dread Emperor’s every nook and cranny. This here, boys and girls, is death metal created especially for death metallers, so if it isn’t bringing your raised fist and stank face to the yard, relinquish your fan card to AMG Headquarters.
From its near forty-minute runtime to Pär Olofsson’s ominously perfect cover art, I found little at fault with Dread Emperor. I suppose, if I had to pick at something, I’d say that many of the faster tremoloed sections tended to blend, sharing a marrow of similitude amidst Dread Emperor’s greater skeletal structure, but even that is a minor quibble. All due primarily to Slaughterday’s ability to construct compositions in such a way as to render the many inter-song shifts in style and tempo an organic strength as opposed to a stuttery distraction. Even Slaughterday’s version of Protector’s “Golem” sits comfortably at the end and fits the overall narrative of Dread Emperor well, escaping the fate of feeling tacked on, which is often the case with album-closing cover songs.
Does Slaughterday play meat-and-potatoes death metal? Sure, but this ain’t no watery soup from a can, this is stew like grandma used to make, filled with steamy hunks of fresh potato and chunks of beefy meat, swimming in an ichorous broth worth killing for. I didn’t anticipate how much fun I was going to have with Dread Emperor when I grabbed it, but it does exactly what it’s supposed to do: elicit a smile from my lips, a bang from my head, and Dio’s horns from my fist. Prime Tyme-certified death metal perfect for rotten valentines.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320kb/s mp3
Label: Testimony Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026
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