Consumed (one-man TXDM) Demo Review

This dude contacted us out of the blue for a review, so I checked his Myspace and was pretty impressed at the quality for a one-man project! He sent me his newest demo, including three tracks in 10 and a half minutes of quality slamming deathgrind, so here's my verdict.

First track starts with a nice slam with pretty tight drum programming, then we get the huge "YUUUURRGH" vocal invocation and we're off to a fast and riffing start with some very Californian sounding technical riffery and blasting. Vocals are pushed back to showcase the riffs and drums, but eventually it slows down for another slam section with a weird and interesting rhythm; fuckin' catchy! Another breakdown occurs and tosses the listener into another swamp of gore with pure bludgeoning slams and quick, frenetic leadwork. The high vocals are a little off the mark and odd sounding, and the lower vocals clip too much to be totally successful, but overall I'm feeling this.

Next track begins with a sample, which I don't like unless they're evocative, which this doesn't really give to me (Texas Chainsaw Massacre thing, kind of predictable), but when it starts, the slams are abound though oddly rigid and not groovy or punishing enough. The time changes and shifts in the song's direction are pretty interesting and seem almost illogical, but the drum programming here is good enough to glue everything together, and there are some really nice sections of blasting Deeds of Flesh-isms complete with chaotic, fast tremolo. I would really like to hear a better kick drum sample, and, come to think of it, the snare is almost missing and/or drowned out by the crash cymbal, which sounds a little awkward.

"I...AM...PAIN"...now that sample was good, but didn't mesh well enough with the song. Still, once it starts, this is easily one of the best parts on the demo, with catchy and very well structured blasting slam grooves! Titled "Torture, Rape, Dismember", I can get a definite feeling for this, as a goregrind-like drum fill connects the first and second "parts" (like the title implies) of the track together. This is easily the best stuff on the demo, though the vocals are very ineffectual, which really brings this down. However, during the short slam section, they slightly redeem themselves with some good gurgling stuff in the vein of Ruben of our favorite Devourment, so that's alright. The song grinds until the very end with a fast and very nice sounding chromatic riff, and the previous breakdown reiterates again, leaving me with a good feeling for the future of this artist.

Check out his demo, contact him on Myspace, and listen to his songs. There aren't enough quality one-man slam/brutal death bands, so this is a welcome addition to my collection.