Editor's Note 8/6/19: Originally written for Metal Archives.
No One Gets Out Alive have done something that isn't very easy to do: bring something new to slam death metal. The fact that the whole band is just one guy makes this even more impressive. This one guy from Germany shocked the whole underground brutal death metal scene by combining slam with elements of bluegrass (don't worry, it isn't as scary as it sounds). It isn't without it's faults, but Old Shack Stories is still a solid and unique release in the slam scene.
For those of you that don't know, NOGOA incorporate banjos into their slam sound. That's right. Banjos. What's really scary is that it works. The banjos add a whole new layer to the sound and they just create a cool atmosphere, especially on tracks like "Frozen Blood". The band is famous among slam fans for their "banjo breakdowns" but unfortunately, they can overdo the banjo on some tracks, which really makes it sound less interesting at times and it can cause the listener to be overwhelmed. The band also has some pretty creative guitar riffs in addition to their slams. Some of their riffs actually remind me of Swedish death metal and even bands like Dismember come to mind. If you randomly sampled certain tracks, you might think you're listening to a melodic death metal release and get startled when the low gutturals and slam riffs come out of nowhere. The vocals themselves are nothing to write home about. They're just typical, low, nonsensical gutturals that compliment the relentless slams nicely. Interestingly, and thankfully, there are almost no vocals during the melodic passages to the listener can just enjoy the great riffing without the slamesque gutturals.
If you're into slam but want to hear something new, give this a shot in addition to their other releases. I guarantee No One Gets Out Alive aren't like any other band out there, slam or not.
