|
Release Date: 2007 Record Label: Nekromantik Track list:
|
Suffocate Bastard / Divaricate / Visceral Carnage Split - Mutilated and Split into Thirds
Suffocate Bastard - 'Architects of Perversity' Demo CD 2004 Stefan Meja - Vocals
Suffocate Bastard kick off this brutal death metal split featuring presentable demos of three relatively new bands all from different countries. This band had fooled me into believing that they were from California instead of Germany, and I'm glad I didn't wager a nut on that. Quite a shame actually, as the brutal bands from their home country have their own distinctive chunky sound and are decidedly riff-driven, and for that reason I would consider them to be superior to the indistinguishable brutal ones thriving purposelessly in the US, particularly those on the west coast. Sounding like a cross between Gorgasm and Pyaemia, admittedly the music of Suffocate Bastard isn't bad at all if you can tolerate banality. Riffs flow smoothly albeit briskly over sinuous and often longwinded pathways that are intermittently obstructed by the heavy parts, scampering across like a trained athlete on an obstacle course, competently and with practiced ease. Instead of settling for easy chugs and anytime breakdowns, Suffocate Bastard work like a panicking woman to create and dramatise the tension, and then discharge speedy slams or breakdowns that leave you grappling someone's boob for balance. Continuous pace fluctuation helps in making Suffocate Bastard‘s way too familiar course of music tolerable if not somewhat interesting. All of that including humming riffs and growl-rasp tradeoffs of Deeds of Flesh, technical arrangements of Gorgasm (minus the extravagance), and stylistic execution of Sadis Euphoria, is hurriedly compressed in the space of just two minutes, the average length of the songs on this demo. Professionally produced, this is the demo that got them a full-length deal with Revenge Productions (the album is now out and called Acts Of Contemporary Violence). There is no doubt about Suffocate Bastard's impressive playing abilities, but the fact remains that their music is thoroughly lacking in individuality. <6.0>
Divaricate - Demo CD 2006 Sam Townsley - Vocals
Divaricate's music sounds like standing in front of a whirring jet engine: blaring metallic sound, hair flying off your head, nondescript facial features turning aerodynamic and oh so sleek as if some invisible force is painfully pulling your Rudolph-red ears from behind while pressing his legs against your back. It takes only three songs for Divaricate to make you feel like a completely different person, one who has been traumatised enough to learn valuable insights in life, like how in spite of being the umpteenth new brutal death metal sensation from California, Divaricate doesn't suck; rather it blows you away. If Abysmal Torment with their unremitting brutal style and kind of technicality adopted the ear-ringing metal pipe sound and devastative heaviness of Sepsism on To Prevail In Disgust and covered songs from the legendary Cranial Impalement EP, that music would sound identical to that of Divaricate. After a long time seriously pissed off brutal death music tears out of your speakers – brain-numbingly intense and too fast for you to mosh. Complementing this kind of music are powerfully growled vocals, which instead of meek reeing or mumbled grumbles, are sharp, deep and hoarse at the same time, definitely more than just ‘sick'. Riffs however could be more defined and memorable and song writing less ambiguous, and though Divaricate make up for that with sheer intensity, these aspects cannot be neglected in the longer version of the album. The best moments of this furious demo are the compulsive tornado headbanging parts reminiscent of Bloodthirst era Cannibal Corpse like in “Gaia Deformed” and “Disinterring Truth”, which when unleashed with their level of brutality, is simply fucking madness. Not since Cranial Impalement have I heard brutal death metal from California with such an overwhelming approach. Although far from perfect, the band oozes potential from every pore. Watch out for Divaricate because their full length promises to blow your soiled ass out of the water and keep it that way for a long time. <6.7>
Visceral Carnage - 'Bizarre Acts of Gruesome Torture' Demo CD 2005
In true Mexican tradition, Visceral Carnage open their side of the split with an intro. Mercifully, their brutal music sounds different from that of other known 'visceral' bands (Visceral Bleeding and Visceral Damage) otherwise in no time you would be showing symptoms of thridzophrenia. What sets this Mexican brutal band apart from its peers is their inherent sickness engendered from poor hygiene and excessive body hair, which works miraculously well for brutal death metal. In fact, Visceral Carnage's music is so sick that if you were to install a microscope on top of one of your speakers, you would discover innumerable species of viruses riding gloriously on the emanating sound waves. In musical terms, Visceral Carnage's music sounds like members of Disgorge (Mex) and Rottenness meeting up in a stinky little place in Mexico and jamming tunes of their own bands as well as those of early Lividity and Dyscrasia, as a result of their late ‘90s/early '00s brutal death metal hangover. In addition to the brutality of the aforementioned bands, “Ravenous Cannibalistic Gluttony” features beautifully treated riffs that emerge slowly and gracefully out of your speakers, in a manner so sick and infectious that you will instantly get bedridden. Songs like “Brutalized Mercilessly” and “Dismembering the Innocent” treat you with the madly adored Mexigorge breakdown without making you suffer endlessly for it. “Demise of the Despised Female” has a lovely Immolation undercurrent earlier on in the song after which you are propelled into a familiar morass of deliberately haphazard riffing, drum blasturbation and sick, apparently inhaled vocals. Nothing groundbreaking here, but brutalheads with an affinity towards sickness will derive as much enjoyment from Visceral Carnage's music as they did from bunking school by continuously falling sick as a kid. <7.1>
Nekromantik/Death Corporation have done a fair job culling demos of three worthy bands and putting it on a single CD, which I would recommended only to the die-hard brutalheads. This is a great idea and I hope more labels follow suit to support the untapped talent languishing in the underground.
November 29th, 2007 |
    
|
