Infernal Revulsion - Dead But Breathing (Revenge Productions; 2009)

With Dead But Breathing Infernal Revulsion have finally released a follow up to their excellent debut album Devastate Under Hallucination which came out in 2007. Devastate Under Hallucination is a personal favorite of mine and I think because of that Dead But Breathing feels a little disappointing.

To be fair Dead But Breathing has a lot of really good moments. Infernal Revulsion's strength is writing really heavy slams. Their slams aren't catchy as much as memorably heavy. The musicianship on this album is very strong and every instrument is played very well. They even throw in a couple cool solos. The album as a whole feels very menacing and mean (in a good way). The production is very full and thick sounding which helps add weight to the build up and execution of the mammoth slams that Infernal Revulsion employ.

What disappointed me though is that Infernal Revulsion pretty much wrote the same album as their debut, they just didn't do it as well. Both are eight songs long, both have an instrumental intro and basically the songwriting is the same. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what is wrong, but it's just not as good. If Dead But Breathing had been their first album and Devastate Under Hallucination had been their second, I would've praised them for having a decent debut and an awesome second album that improved nicely on the formula from the first album. Unfortunately it is the other way around.

Although this isn't a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, you can get the same but better from their debut.

Amputated Genitals - Family Bloodbath (Gore and Blood; 2009)

Bringing us back to another familiar and equally awesome scene, Amputated Genitals, veterans of slamming sickness, return with a new album full of forward-charging blastfests, interesting angular riffage and some of the best vocals in the entire country courtesy of one Sebastian Guarin. Nick and I spoke to guitarist/bassist Dan Paz (who also runs Gore and Blood and is an ex-member of infamous Colombian gore squad Purulent) at MDF and when he informed us that this would see the light of day merely weeks from when we spoke, we were (needless to say) fucking psyched! All of our expectations seem to have been very highly fulfilled here, as this is a sick follow-up to the band's lone previous album, the awesome Human Meat Gluttony.

Right off the bat, we're hit with a section that reminds immediately of early Disgorge (US), with Guarin pulling off his best Matti Way impression (and a damn good one at that) while the band chugs with a rhythm sounding like it was lifted straight off She Lay Gutted with better production; a promising start, for sure. The band doesn't lose steam as they barrel through the next track, the awesomely/awkwardly titled "The Butcher's Kindergarten" and land square in the middle of a chugging slam section with perfect fluidity; these guys know how to write brutal music, that's for sure.

Let's talk about the production for a second. This is both a sticking point and a huge plus for the band. Human Meat Gluttony featured a very claustrophobic sound with an at times hard to discern guitar tone which didn't allow for the clarity of certain excellent riffs (the typical Colombian semi-epic/melodic riffing lots of bands are known for, and which AmpGen are pretty much gods of). Finding them was very rewarding, but I think this release is a bit more satisfying because, well, the tone is a lot sharper and clearer. Maybe people will find this to be a point of contention, which is why I mentioned that it may not be a unanimously agreed-upon improvement, but after a couple listens, the razor-sharpness of the new production starts to sink in and things make more sense. There's an extended "clear riff" section right in the first song that I believe proves my point fairly well; it's a well-written riff, well-played, and we can actually hear it easily this time! Points for that from me. The advance single from the album, "Murder Kit" is a raging track full of interesting (if a bit low-key) chainsaw-riffs, all blurring together under the spastic drumming to form a quite narrative song about serial murder (with a great breakdown riff section to boot; catchy, even).

Continuing on, the band barely ever does anything uninteresting on this entire album, though the full-frontal extremity could be seen as slightly overbearing at times. Alas, as slam/brutal death metal listeners, we love the extremity and thus it's not a big deal that Beto never stops pounding on the double bass, etc.! Speaking of the drumming, even though it's kind of loud on here (as Beto usually is; see Ancient Necropsy for more of his work), it's improved on the style displayed on the debut, with more fills and with some amazing gravity blasting (which I usually don't like, mind you)...there's a really fucking brutal drum/riff combo part in "Bloody Justice" that makes me want to murder a bunch of innocent people, so if that's your thing, get this now. Right now.

If you're not initiated into the cult that is Colombian slam and instead lean towards the more "clean"/clinical side of the spectrum (i.e. Abominable Putridity, Inveracity, Awaiting the Autopsy, Pathology even!), this probably won't change your mind and might even seem boring. However, to those who love their slamming brutality raw, unadulterated and putrefied, seek out this one; you will not regret it. Bonus points if you own an Amputated Genitals keychain given to you by Dan at a certain deathfest...OK, we'll stop rubbing it in. Buy or die, of course; this is legitimate Colombian sickness and you know it, so stop kidding yourself. Even the booklet is awesome (glossy, 8 page, full color just like HMG sans incredibly icky red/green Christmas color palette) and the artwork hilariously gruesome. Also, the opening track is the first slam song to ever have the words "My best friend" in it, and boy does it get unfriendly right after that. Unfriendly...that's what this is; anti-social, sick and insane music...just what we like!

P.S. one thing I have against this is it doesn't have a part like "I'LL DEVOUR YOUR FUCKING GUTS UNTIL VOMIT" like HMG did...you know what I'm talking about...you know you shit yourself when you first heard it. Makes me sad, but that gives me enough reason to play both of these albums a ton, anyway!

Pus Vomit - Degrade the Worthless (Berdugo; 2009)

Filipino slamming sickness is upon us yet again this year with a certifiably fucking awesome debut by none other than debut full-lengthers Pus Vomit. PV's last release was a 3-way split with some rather unheard of bands (Jesus Corpus of Missouri and Innards Decay of Malaysia; talk about international!) in 2007, and they clearly spent last year practicing their chops for this one because this is some damn good slam. First thing you'll notice after the obligatory Albert Fish confession tape sample is the thick, heavy production which immensely highlights the slams and, oddly enough, the ride cymbal. Speaking of cymbals, you can tell this is Filipino almost immediately from the excellent use of drum fills and odd-timed slams with punishing rhythms.

At times, this is almost too good to be true; check out about halfway into the second track, "Soaked In Her Own Blood" with that ludicrous breakdown; a real gut-puncher, that one. Next up is the incredibly awesomely titled "God Help Me Rape The Dead" with nice, rolling double-bass verse sections leading up to some great slams reminiscent of newer Devourment and Abominable Putridity, replete with "second instance of same breakdown slowed to half speed and given the awesome drum treatment" action. Seriously, it's just way too fucking good sometimes.

Track 5, "Self Inflicted Wound" has some spazz thrown into the writing with rapidly shifting song sections and riff ideas coming out of every direction, all converging to the central slam nerve in your cerebral cortex...yes, you have one of those, and this is sure to get it pumping. I can't even get over how ridiculously brutal and amazing the drum fill into breakdown on "Dead For Rent" is, so just trust me on this. "Your Dead Body I Molest" begins with a sinister riff and proceeds to throw more evil riffs at you until the minute mark where a fucking stupidly heavy slam beatdown occurs. I'm telling you, this is just incredibly good.

It's even perfectly long! I've put this one three times today, and I'm on my fourth as I write this, jotting down thoughts as I listen. Their use of pinch harmonics is perfect, their songwriting is impeccable, the vocals are like a deranged Ruben Rosas combined with the dry style of fellow countrymen Human Mastication and everything is just GREAT. Not a note out of place on this one. Buy or fucking die. Oh, and art by Majewski. You CANNOT lose. It's awesome, it's new, it's Pus Vomit. You will slam, and you will like it; I guarantee it.

Egemony - Baptism of the Unborn (Nice to Eat You Records; 2009)

Egemony is a relatively new one-man band and because of this fact comparisons to bands like Insidious Decrepancy, Putrid Pile, or perhaps Infinite Defilement come to mind. However a much better comparison would be to countrymen Septycal Gorge.

That's not to say Egemony is as good as Septycal Gorge (few bands are), but the riffing style and song structures definitely recall Septycal Gorge. Both bands rely on a lot of very interesting and memorable tremolo riffs complemented with weird sounding but still heavy slams. The best moments on this album are when a cool sounding tremolo riffs going into a quick, pounding slam section and then right back into the tremolo riffs. If the riffs and song writing didn't give away Egemony's Septycal Gorge influence, the fact that a cover version of the song "Abominated Hierarchy" is included as a bonus track should.

Egemony is not purely a clone band though. Whereas Septycal Gorge often feels very big and open, Egemony felt very dense to me. This made each individual song less memorable. I can also hear influence from other Italian bands like Putridity and Clitoridus Invaginatus in the pinch harmonics and slams, and Deeds of Flesh in the tremolo riffs.

Although these influences are strongly felt, there's just enough of a mixture to keep Egemony from sounding totally derivative. Baptism of the Unborn is a decent album that fans of Italian brutal death metal should especially like.

Asphyxiate - Anatomy Of Perfect Bestiality (Sevared; 2009)

From Indonesia comes Asphyxiate, new slammers out to tell you that Jasad, Imprecatory and Antraks aren't the only big timers in the country! Their sophomore LP, released a whopping six years(!) after their debut (which I have yet to hear), has just been released on Sevared recently and it sounds really sick! Let's have a quick rundown...

Shifting, stacatto riffing recalls the earliest works of Defeated Sanity, even pre-Prelude..., going back to the sound on the split with Poppy Seed Grinder. Very jumpy with raw-leaning production and a decidedly bass-to-mid range tone on the guitars, the band wastes no time and switches quickly between slamming and slower, tremolo-driven breakdowns in the first track, and most of the other stuff on here follows suit. The vocals aren't too guttural, and are instead probably the most akin to "normal" death metal as most of this gets, as it is mainly straight up brutal; blasting, slamming and dirty. Efficient songwriting shows that Asphyxiate manage their time well and actually (barely!) break the 30 minute mark with some more thoughtful constructions and odd shifts such as the tempo switches in "Gallery From The Killing Field" which somehow bring to mind the more interesting moments of progressive brutal death metallers Ingurgitating Oblivion. Total slammers might be a bit disappointed by this as it is a bit jumpy and confusing, but those seeking brutality in any of its many forms could be pleasantly surprised by this diamond in the rough...it's definitely better than Jasad's Annihilate the Enemy (the obvious reference point, I think) which suffered from poor production and overall very stale songwriting in my opinion, but it's possibly not quite as good or about on par with the Jasad debut, Witness of Perfect Torture, featuring lots of excellent flourishes and with a short running time any slammer can appreciate. Regardless, Asphyxiate blast out an impressive sophomore album with Anatomy of Perfect Bestiality...I'm interested in hearing their debut now to see how they've changed and matured in the 6 year interim between albums. Intriguing and somehow a bit more cerebral than I really expected. B+ for effort in any case, here. Not quite top tier but worthy of a buy!

WORMED to finish recording, begin mixing and mastering new material!

In a new Myspace blog update, Phlegeton of mighty Spanish slammers Wormed has confirmed that the quartet (now featuring Migueloud of the also-mighty Human Mincer as a second guitarist to compliment J. Oliver!) has just about finished up recording and will next proceed to the mix/master stage of the new songs for the upcoming demo. How the update is written, it seems like these new tracks may be exclusive (as in, not to be found on the upcoming album). You can judge for yourself by reading the press release below:

"The recording process is almost finished,
only a few details to complete it.
In the next days we will start with the mix and mastering,
we will upload the new songs soon.
Also we are working in new songs more brutal
than our past works for our next full lenght.

Thanks for the support, stay tuned!

WORMED"

Cenotaph and Embryonic Depravity Updates

Turkish brutal death metal veterans Cenotaph have released a new song called "Schizoid Acts of Mental Defloration". This song will be on an upcoming full length which according to the band will be released in early 2010. The song sounds pretty good and reminds me of the slammier moments of Reincarnation in Gorextasy (review). The drums are especially good and are played by Defeated Sanity's Lille Gruber.

Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/cenotaph

On the other side of Europe, Embryonic Depravity are busy working on their upcoming full length Constrained by the Miscarriage of Conquest which they say will be released this September. They have just released the album cover and track list. I am very impressed with this cover and judging by Embryonic Depravity's side of the split with Gorevent the album will be very good.

More info: here

Amputated Genitals - Human Meat Gluttony (Gore and Blood; 2005)

As I mentioned in my previous post, Amputated Genitals have a new album out which is getting a lot of positive attention. But what about their first album Human Meat Gluttony? Is it worth getting? Short answer: yes absolutely.

Human Meat Gluttony really earns the brutal in brutal death metal. From start to finish it is an extreme assault on the ears. Amputated Genitals have a very thick, blasty sound full of pounding and interesting riffs. It reminds me of countrymen Blaze Inside and Wormeaten. All the attributes that make Colombian death metal great are here in force. Loud drums, a raw sound, and interesting riffs are present throughout Human Meat Gluttony. The first song on the album "Chessman Red Monday" is representative of the rest of the album in that it has both super brutal percussive sections and an evil sounding riff all in one song. Also of note is that vocals are very sick sounding and much better than your average Colombian band.

Even the song titles are incredibly brutal. The song "Vaginal Skin Grind Vomit" on the album Human Meat Gluttony by the band Amputated Genitals has to be the most brutal combination ever. The musicianship is also very high quality especially considering that Human Meat Gluttony is a debut album. This probably has something to with the fact that some of the band members were in the legendary Colombian BDM band Purulent before forming Amputated Genitals.

I talk about Colombian death metal a lot and I tend to like almost all of it, but Human Meat Gluttony is a standout among that group. It's one of the more though out and just high quality albums to come out of Colombia ever. It's not as catchy as the more slam oriented bands like Carnivore Diprosopus or Sadistic Mutilation, but it's got more substance and I find myself coming back to Amputated Genitals again and again.

New Release Updates - Midsummer 09

It's a good time to be a slam fan right now as there are a bunch of new releases out now from very good bands. This post is about three of the major ones.

Amputated Genitals - Family Bloodbath: Amputated Genitals are one of the premier Colombian brutal death bands and all around cool guys. This is the follow up to their first full length Human Meat Gluttony which was very good.













Infernal Revulsion - Dead But Breathing: Another sophomore album this time from the Japanese band Infernal Revulsion. I loved their first album Devastate Under Hallucination so I am really excited for this. Infernal Revulsion are one of the heaviest bands around.

Insidious Decrepancy - Extirpating Omniscient Certitude: Shawn Whitaker is one the most well known guys in the scene today and this album is the third from his one man project Insidious Decrepancy. Whitaker is a very talented man so I'm expecting this album to be very high quality.



Hopefully this gives people some inspiration on new albums to try out. Both Andy and I have ordered these albums so keep an eye on the blog for review in the near future.