Upper Decker - Family Dinner

It is a bit hilarious that a band would call themselves Upper Decker, but it is no worse than Party Cannon. Granted, this Death Metal group from France should be taken with a grain of salt and expect humorous results mixed with plenty of brutality to boot. While not quite the Slam-fest that some might expect, each track does feature that lumbering Brutal Death metal quality that mixes mid era Suffocation with that of very early Cannibal Corpse for a loud, rumbling EP that was recently picked up by Great Dane Records and features a few extra tracks compared to the original that was released back in 2023. For those who have never heard these guys before, expect some pretty caveman level music that is basic, but still features plenty of groove.

While not quite ‘toilet Slam,’ the music and song titles can border that genre. Tracks like ‘Jared the Subway Guy’ is that good mix of hilarity but also chunky riffs thanks to Tral who also lends backing vocals (probably the Six Feet Under styled shrieks) and Uwe’s bass which is right in the front most of the time, especially on ‘Kevin.’ For those who like their Death Metal sounding meaty and thick, this pretty much delivers. The opening ‘Albert Fish n’ Chips’ is a bit more of that Death n’ Roll swagger with guttural (but not toilet guttural) growls from Gaara, but will lean more towards the early Cannibal Corpse side of things mixed with Six Feet Under. There are some surprises though in the form of random solos and samples, such as that used on the spacey ‘Derek…’ which keeps things interesting, if not more hilarious. The samples are used sparingly though, which is tasteful as some bands tend to use them a bit too much at times (like PeelingFlesh).

The drums are a mixed of programmed and live from Le C, but like the rest of the instruments, provide a thick thundering sound to keep up with the groove versus the more technical ‘ratatat’ that some bands like Cryptopsy use. At the same time- on a technical note- sometimes the guitars can get into some pretty frantic solos (this is where the Suffocation influence comes in) which helps change things up such as on ‘Paul’s Thrower’ or the Infant Annihilator ‘stop and go’ pacing on ‘Kevin’ versus the usual lumbering riffs which just sound repetitive and dumbed after a while. Some of the random/ funny parts do feel a little out of place such as the clean vocals on ‘Simon the Toilet Beast’ which gives a nod to a choir like style at times- or childish chanting- but doesn’t quite fit the rest of the song, especially being that they were only used once, just like the UFO sounding samples. Still, overall, despite these quirks this small EP does feature a smattering of crushing Death Metal that fans are sure to enjoy as long as they don’t take it too seriously and just enjoy the humor of the situation. “Family Dinner” is a quick take-out dosage of music that won’t leave any leftovers and will still slap one across the face like a well-cooked sausage.    

3 / 5 STARS