Review | Funerot - Invasion From The Death Dimension album artwork

Rating: 7.3

Country: USA

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. The Interceptor
2. Mandroid
3. The Man With The Megaton Mind
4. Death Or Die
5. Death By Draino
6. Radioactivation
7. Invaders From The Death Dimension
8. Phase Zero: Morbivision
9. 1900-Dth-Line
10. Tyrranosaur
11. Aftermath

Band Website: Funerot

Funerot - Invasion From The Death Dimension

Dan Munro- Guitar/Vocals
Max Gore-man- Bass/Vocals
Ben Moore-Maley- Guitar/Vocals
Reuben Storey- Drums

I'm not entirely sure what the Horror Hive's policy is with signings nowadays, but it appears as though everything is coagulating and condensing into one dense blur- is it just me, or are there not considerable aesthetic similarities between this record, and recent Ghoul/Frightmare recordings? Sure, there are vast differences vocally, but Funerot exhibit a shared proclivity for the frenzied crossover thrash of Wehrmacht, Cryptic Slaughter, Hirax and At War as their celebrated peers, though they share just as much common ground with Toxic Holocaust, Municipal Waste, Chemikiller and Blüdwulf as they do with Engorged.

There's not a whole lot of depth to sink one's teeth into here, and thankfully the band does not varnish their product with any obtuse pretension, posturing or other such accoutrements, and while the shelf life of this breakdown-intensive, dangerously infectious material is necessarily short (unless you really love gutter-thrash crossover, think SOD should have put out more than one record, believe Nuclear Assault's return should be celebrated and contend that Toxic Holocaust and Municipal Waste still have years worth of material left in them), there is no denying the irrepressible, manic energy and contagious frenzy of the album. It's clear that Funerot are bloody good at what they do, and there is certainly no dearth of whiplash-inducing fare here, the band operating best when they express their intent blatantly and dole out mosh-inducing midpaced riffing. The linearity of the album is obvious, and the derivativeness of it all (streetwise urban thrash ala Anthrax and Zoetrope peppered with overt New Renaissance crossover-isms) might seem hackneyed to the cynical, but there is a density (listen to that bass, that's what a fingerstyle bassist can give you) and sincerity here that cannot be denied.

Not a whole lot of meat to sink your teeth into here, my fellow cannibals, and certainly, everything from the requisite shock n'schlock kitsch to the open-e chug seems typical and rehearsed, but Funerot really make no apologies about what they're striving to arouse (ie, sore necks and shitfaced nostalgic grins), and other than Engorged's Where Monsters Dwell and Coffins' monumental debut LP, this is surely the most instantly satisfying Razorback recording in recent memory. Not essential by any means, but a worthy recording in its own right.

July 29th, 2007