New Human Rejection Song

As already mentioned on the blog (here) Greek slammers Human Rejection are releasing a new album called Decrepit to Insanity in the very near future. To whet your appetite for the new album they have put up a new song on their myspace called "Proceed to Terminal Isolate". In my opinion it sounds really good. Both Andy and I are big fans of their first album and if this song is any indication their new one will rule. The same style of bouncy slam and catchy riffs is here, but it sounds a little more developed and refined. The vocals are still sick but a little more restrained, which should quiet some of the criticism Human Rejection faced over their last album. I was pretty much assured of getting Decrepit to Insanity anyway, but "Proceed to Terminal Isolate" really sealed the deal. Listen for yourself at their myspace: www.myspace.com/humanrejection.

Wormeaten - Tortured Cadaveric Humanity (Brutalized Records; 2005)

My love for Colombian death metal is deep and unshakable. For whatever reason this one particular country has really tapped into a winning formula for making awesome death metal. Tortured Cadaveric Humanity by Wormeaten is one of the lesser known albums to emerge from the scene, but it is certainly a worthy addition to the country's stellar reputation. Wormeaten are from Bogota and Tortured Cadaveric Humanity is their debut and to date only album.

On this album we have all the hallmarks of Colombian DM. Raw production, loud, pingy snare, and mediocre vocals. I like the raw production on this album especially because it really fits with the music and makes it sound even more primal and disgusting. I'm a fan of the pingy snare personally but it is somewhat of an acquired taste so if it's not your thing it may annoy you. The vocals, as with nearly ever Colombian band, I can forgive becasuse the music is so great.

Now about the music. Wormeaten utilize serpentine melodies contrasted with either groovy slams or furious blasts. It's actually a good mix of things that remains unique and engaging throughout. The melodies keep you entertained and just when you a want some brutality a slam or blast rides in. Bands I'd compare Wormeaten to are Amputated Genitals, Blaze Inside, and Masturbation. All these bands have the same kind of interesting melody/slam and blast contrast. Despite these similarities Wormeaten are certainly their own band and are not obviously copying any of their peers.

As for the general quality of the album I'd put it squarely in the second tier of Colombian DM. Not quite as good as Ancient Necropsy or Goretrade, but still very enjoyable, especially if you're like me and can't get enough from this scene.

AP Gets a New Vocalist and a Dripping Reunion?

There's been a few rumors floating around the slam world of late. One of them is that Abominable Putridity, probably the most popular new slam band to come out in the last few years, has replaced their vocalist Vladimir with "Big Chocolate" of Malodorous. When I heard this I was very concerned because in my opinion Vladimir has really good vocals, especially on In the End of Human Existence, Abominable Putridity's debut album. I'm not really familiar with Malodorous and to be honest I've never understood why people get so excited over them. Big Chocolate's vocals aren't that great either. I did some investigation into this and I found no mention of the change on either AP's or Malodorous' myspaces. In fact the only place I have seen mention of this is on Metal Archives and AP's shoutbox on last.fm. It also seems strange that a band in Moscow would choose a vocalist living in the USA. I don't want to definitively say this is false but it doesn't seem likely to me. If anything else develops I'll post about it here.

On a happier note one of my favorite bands, Dripping, has reformed, at least for one show. According to Dripping myspace, they are getting together to play at the New Jersey Deathfest, which is happening in October of this year. The line up looks really good and besides Dripping will include Inhuman Dissiliency, Digested Flesh, and Dysentery among others. Unfortunately I'll be in Toronto in October so I'll miss this but I urge any fans in the New Jersey area to see this. Dripping are one of the most unique and awesome bands ever to play brutal death metal so this is an opportunity you don't want to miss. I just hope this one time reunion leads to something more.

NJ Deathfest myspace: www.myspace.com/njdeathfest

Human Rejection - Decrepit to Insanity PRE-ORDERS!

Human (fucking) Rejection has finally given us, the slammers, what we've wanted; a new album.  Well, soon anyway.  PathEx is now taking package-deal preorders for the new HR album, Decrepit to Insanity, and they'll be shipping in early April.  HR's album from 2007 was a favorite of Nick and I's, featuring awesome vocals (fuck off the haters), amazing downtuned slams, bouncy grooves and fun basswork.  Support the scene and pick these up when you can (I'd advise those stateside to wait until they're available here, though, pre-orders overseas can sometimes be weird), you'll be in for a treat.

Embryonic Depravity/Gorevent - Malignant Opus of Inherited Depravities (Sevared; 2009)

Finally, ED unleashes something widely available, and with Japanese slam-mongers Gorevent to boot.  This is somewhat of a funny pairing; ED is of course all about blasting technicality with sinister slam/tremolo riffing and snaky songwriting.  The bass pops out at little intervals like the breakdown in the excellently titled "Acephalous Transmutation" which is a well-documented favorite quirk of mine.  The weak link in the band is actually probably Rob's vocals (sorry man!) which aren't quite guttural enough for my tastes, but I suppose they work well enough in the regard that ED isn't a "totally slam" band that needs all-out gutturals.

The fact that the bass even exists is awesome, also, because their first demo which contained the aforementioned track had no bass on it as far as I know! James, the new bassist, has implemented his personal style well in the structure of the band, especially in breakdowns as I said.  During the blasting the riffs can get a little lost behind the clanging ride/hi-hat combo, but otherwise, the drums sound great; crisp, clear and full.  I'd like to hear Rob try a higher vocal register here and there, maybe via multitracking, as dual high/guttural vocals sound like they would fit snugly here, if I do say so myself.  The tappy/sweepy solo at the end of "Insurgence of Dogmatic Antiquity" is even better here than it was on the demo, also.  "The Propagation of Decrepitude" if I recall correctly was a Myspace sample of the band's new work for a while, featuring stop-on-a-dime tempo changes that sound totally natural for the band, and feature the band working with a slightly beefed-up production for some reason.  The little guitar noodlies tend to bother me here and there, a little too "Cali" for these ears (though some bands can pull it off, Gortuary being one!).

I am interested in seeing where they go from here; if they develop their "futuristic" seeming sound/aesthetic a little more, they could achieve unthinkable levels of technical slam/deathgrind supremacy in the future.  As always, a band to watch and support.

Gorevent presents their entire demo + a previously unheard track(?) here, and if Embryonic Depravity represent the future of slam, Gorevent represent the cavemen; the neanderthals of plugging-away slam with no glorious solos, no noodly guitar thingies, no big tempo-changing-blast-breakdown sections...just pure, unadulterated, demo-style Abominable Putridity/Devourment slam of a tall and downtuned order.  These troglodytic tones always hit the spot for me, though, their bludgeoning excess always beating the listener into submission; this is definitely the audial sound of a sledgehammer crushing skulls mercilessly!

Even for a demo, the sound is pretty good all things considered, and the songwriting is what we expect.  "Gory the Body" is a track that didn't make its way onto the album from last year (a big hit around these parts for the impersonal, disturbing way they handle slam and twist it in their own atrocious, surreal way...very Japanese, as such), but it should have, as it begins with a ludicrous breakdown in which now-ex female bassist Sonobe's individual tones can be heard menacingly strummed under the chugging low-cut gritty guitars in all their hammering glory. The middle section has a very cool riff into a half-blasting section which dissolves into yet another slam breakdown, perhaps kind of a weird songwriting choice, but it's fun and would get pits confused and subsequently bloodthirsty.

"Monition" is a song I've never heard, as mentioned, and it's a little rawer and more Abominable Putridity-esque than the others but with a certain charm and organic feel unlike AP.  The kick drum is a little annoying, sort of clicky, but not fast enough to blend in, so it feels like it sticks out.  The chugging pinch harmonic section is a big plus though, more bands need to do the onward-moving straight chug/pinch thing, it's always awesome sounding to me.  Well, there you have it.  The UK and Japan team up to offer two sides of the "brutality" coin from the West and East ends.  What seems like a slightly strange pairing left me feeling like there couldn't have been a better one.  Hats off to Barrett for making this happen, and a fist to my own face for not having reviewed this 2 weeks ago when I got it!