Rating: 8.2

Country: France

Genre: Brutal Death Metal

Record Label: Rewolucja Records

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
1. Thus Spoke Zarathustra
2. Pedophile Executioner
3. Ghetto Djeuns Vs Nazi Squad
4. Molesting The Fanascism
5. Ssarkkkonazi
6. Neocolonialism The Slavery Continues...
7. Black Box Lobotomy
8. Decline Of Humanity
9. Kill Your Idols
10. Gateway To Lunacy
11. Forgotten Conflict Children

Total playing time 30:42

Band Website: Disaster

Disaster - The Battle Escalates

Bif : Guitar,Bass, Voice
Sangli : Drums
Titi : Bass
Ben : Voice

French Brutal Death Metal here, from a band I've never got around to listenin' to properly until now, despite havin' had the Da Grind split upon which they feature tucked into my dustified collection for about three years. Foolish of me really, ‘cos Disaster play some very good Brutal Death indeed! No slammy sameyness, no ‘sick' vox, no gravity-brags; this is rich, varied and addictive material, expertly arranged and dexterously delivered, with plenty of bright diversity in its arrangements to keep Disaster well clear of the festerin' Broootal Death cack-heap.

Maybe it was ‘cause spun this for the first time upon arrivin' home from work, but it certainly supplied a highly energizin' and very satisfyin' listen. Enormous technical riffs squirl about, threadin' a wire-wool quilt of razor wire tremelos, skin-shearin' scales and pinched harm-barbs, offset with a sleek lining of snug chugs and comfy grooves, all driven by superlative drumwork that rattles out all manner of splashy blast patterns, smart footwork and flashy fills in a lively, oft free-flowin' fashion. The bass is like an aboutslege to the face; crunchin' up your countenance beneath stomach-quakin' sub-woof blows and slicin' yer neck off with shards of quick-fire twangle, with a preposterously thick sound that builds dense, razorwire ramparts around the guitars. The noises made by these people are, collectively, like a flesh-gashin' harpoon made out of lethal tangled up shards, but it would barely amount to even a knitting needle without said contribution of the low-frequency guitarist. The vox are highly diverse, given that the lad performin' em collects every pitch, timbre and texture that he can think of, and then makes them come out of his face with slobbery aplomb! You'll hear a lot o' hoarse roars, NYDM style guttural churn, piercin' squawks and plenty of explosive bellowin'; which results in a volatile, all over the place vox track which is of course a perfect match for the multi-faceted material atop which it sits. With a healthy balance between devastatin' percussive smashment and smoothly flowin' catchiness, the band show plenty of poise in the performance of their technical expressions; whenever they buffer the shred-laden whirr with nod-friendly groove, the transition is fluid and natural and what results is a sheer delight. Stylistically, this is a potent combo of old and new Technical Brutal Death, but with a nice amount of rousin' Grind, and a few jagged, oxidized shards o' Black/Death Metal here and there, maybe. Every so often, they conclude some of their elaborate phrases with perhaps too hackneyed chuggy parts, which can undermine them a little, but other than that, both songwritin' and delivery are very good indeed, and the resultin' atmosphere is one of portentous enjoyment. After browsin' their discog online, I noted that this disc features re-recordings of tunes that appeared on their 2004 demo. I haven't heard these, but it was certainly a good idea to use those compositions, havin' allowed them more than enough time to marinate, the new versions give them an unmissable chance to pulverize their way thru their well-practiced early works with steamin' shovelfuls of confidence.

I'm reminded of a sleekified version of Cryptopsy classick Blasphemy Made Flesh (but that's more than likely ‘cos o that bass), with bigblobs of Dyin' Fetus and large segments o' heyday-era Suffocation, and perhaps a small splash o' late 90s Cannibal Corpse; Vile and Gallery…, but not Bloodthirst! I get a similar feelin' from this as that triggered by Swedish Brutal Death stuff like Strangulation, maybe Visceral Bleeding or someone. Not Stabwound, though! Some of the ideas reminded me of the new Copremesis album too. On the grindier side o' the coin, I can feel a bit o' Brutal Truth and Nasum on here; so expect catchy, cohesive and coherent Grind bits rather than heaps of maelstromous, lo-fi blast-terror

The sound production is sublime; sumptuously crunchy guitar sound with piles o' definition in the higher-end bits, white hot vox track and enormously punchy, immaculately mapped drumkit, with the most overwhelmin', ear-cloggin' bass sound I've heard all year! Thumbs up to the person at the desk! What with the bleak images rendered in dark orange on the front cover, their philosophy is clearly enrooted in war, religion and global demise but their lyrics are penned entirely in their native tongue and, given that I cannot make claim to even GCSE-level French, I cannot pass judgment on any of ‘em.

Many will agree that the Brutal Death scene is in a pitifully bedraggled state; all re-re-re-re-re-re-recycled two note palm-muted riffs played on scratchy strings downtuned to the point of shoelace entanglement hazard, drumwork that has all the over-the-top blastular tricks down pat but hasn't bothered to put any build-up, momentum or even thought into its rhythms, and vox that even your gran thinks sound stale and could do much better herself, with or without her teeth in. Thankfully, in amongst all of that shite, there is a fertile pocket o' bands who take the style and, not without highly skilful musicianship, provide us with a more vibrant, dynamic and charismatic interpretation of it. I needn't say any more about this, just go and find it.

August 25th, 2008