Fumes of Decay - Devouring the Excavated (2011; Sevared Records)

At the request of an anonymous commenter here on Slam-Minded I took a look at Devouring the Excavated, a somewhat obscure album from Dutch band Fumes of Decay. It was released by Sevared, but until now I hadn't heard any talking about. Does this album deserve to be carried out of obscurity?

After a couple listens my answer is "almost". Fumes of Decay sound like a less technical Disgorge. For a long time I've thought the Europeans do Cali DM better than the Americans, but Fumes of Decay are not quite as good as the elites of the genre from either continent. What you get here are quick, pounding slams contrasted with some evil sounding tremolo riffs. Devouring the Excavated is very lively and energetic, which always positive for a slam album. So many bands, especially when the try to add complexity, end up with a half-baked boring mess. Fumes of Decay escape that here, but in the end that's all that can be said about the album.

What frustrated me most about this album was that whenever the band went in a unique and interesting direction, they quickly retreated back into average riffing. It's harder to appreciate an average album when you know the band is capable of more. Plenty of times Fumes of Decay had a great tremolo riff or a uniquely time slam, yet they would back off of it, almost as if they were afraid to experiment. This made Devouring the Excavated inconsistently great, which in my opinion is worse than consistently good.

Now this is a debut album, so Fumes of Decay have plenty of time to improve. My advice for the next album: experiment! You have the talent to do it!

Abominable Putridity - The Anomalies of Artificial Origins (2012; Brutal Bands)

I went into this album knowing I would be disappointed. For me Abominable Putridity's 2007 debut In The End of Human Existence is one of the top slam albums of the decade. While it did nothing to transcend the genre (eg Wormed or Defeated Sanity) I feel it helped set the standard for what slam was as a genre. If I had to sum up slam death metal in one album I would choose that one.

After listening to this album I found I was not as disappointed as I thought I was going to be. It has some flaws (which I'll get to later), but overall The Anomalies of Artificial Origins is a slick, well-written and well performed album.

First the positives. Abominable Putridity have definitely upped the technicality. Now this always makes me a little nervous because so many bands substitute technicality for songwriting, but AP did it well here.The tech parts are well integrated with the slamming, never devolve into pointless wankery, and are actually intelligible. There are a lot of Dying Fetus-esque slicing arpeggios with touches of Cali DM tremolo melodies in the background. There's still plenty of headbanging slams of course, but it's nice to see a band evolve in a way that makes sense and that sounds good.

This album also features the legendary Matti Way (Disgorge, Pathology) on vocals. If you're a fan (as you should be) you will enjoy his work here. His sick vocals have not lost any of their power in the 20 years since Disgorge first formed. One problem I did have was that the vocals were near constant throughout the album. As good as Matti Way is, it grates a little to hear him gurgling away through the whole song. Slam is all about the transitions - fast/slow, melody/rhythm, blast/breakdown - so when the vocals never let up they lose the power they would have had had they been silent for a little while. This is an example of too much of a good thing.

Did this album live up to its predecessor? No, but I don't think it could've, at least for me. In 2007 slam was just getting started really. Slam-Minded was just getting started, and in many ways I was just getting started as an adult. In the End of Human Existence captured me and many others in the slam scene because it was the perfect album at the perfect time. There was no way a follow up album album was going to be as good. And that's a shame because The Anomalies of Artificial Origins is an excellent album.

Chordotomy - The Precious Ideal promo 2012

Chordotomy are definitely a new name to me, and I promised to give this promo a review for Hannes, in honor of him being our 400th like on Facebook. Thanks again, man!

"Human Derangement" begins with a somewhat goregrind-y riff/drum combo before the first riff gets a bit melodic on us and a very groovy switch-up occurs, leading straight into a thugging slam with the normal kind of vocals. Gurgly and low but not outstanding, though the slams are certainly meaty enough that they don't need incredible vocals to help them along. The guitar tone is a bit weird and distinct; hollow and clear with good mixing. Slightly melodic riffs/sections peek out and work surprisingly well. I like how the slams in this song are generic and normal but don't outstay their welcome, nor do they offend the ears. Just pleasing stuff with a touch of originality and even a bit of professionalism in songwriting style. Drums seem programmed because there seem to be several patterns being repeated seamlessly, but perhaps it is an electric kit or heavily triggered. Regardless, doesn't truly matter as the rhythm section is underpinned by a good, hard snare sound and strong use of crashes to highlight simplistic breakdowns, making them more effective than they would with different production.

"Systematic Extermination"'s first rhythm is just killer; a lurching, swaying beast of a beat that shows once again how simplicity and efficiency can go a long way to making something special even if the individual parts may seem stale or overdone. This song seems much more slam-focused; less melody and more really dumb, heavy riffs that really bludgeon you. The snare(?) during the interesting charging part at 1:39 is kind of wrong sounding and that part could honestly do with some meshing into the whole as well, as the slam it leads into is strong but isn't really arrived at in any logical fashion. Though that isn't bad, per se, this demo seems to be very much about calculated, cold slam and for something so by-the-numbers it's weird to have a shoehorned-in section that doesn't make much sense. This seems like nitpicking, but I feel that I have slightly greater domain over criticism when it comes to demos/promos because of how inherently potential they are, unlike a full-album release which has already garnered a higher level of support. I was preparing for a serious 9-note slam at the 2:22 mark, but I was pleasantly surprised that they threw a slight curve ball with the ride-accentuated ending cadence.

Interesting, but not mindblowing. That's what I'll file this under overall. I hear a lot of potential here, especially in the first song which goes to greater lengths to deviate from the norm than "Systematic Extermination", a song which, despite its slightly longer length, seems almost singularly devoted to churning out grooves (other than the extended "riffy" section later in the song; good stuff, dudes!). In promo terms, this is indicative of possible greatness in the future, but for now I congratulate Chordotomy for making me bang my head. You've done what plenty of demos I've heard in my time have failed to do. Stay at it and we'll definitely have a band to keep watch for.

Also, way better cover art than almost any recent demo I can recall. Though I'm a sucker for flat gradient logos with linear fades and good color matching.

Begging For Incest - Orgasmic Selfmutilation (2012)

Oh god. What the fuck has happened to me. First of all, I apologize, for I am slightly inebriated, but goddamn. I should not love this as much as I do. The band name is goddamned childish and quite awful, this band does nothing to further the genre in any damn way. Hell, even the song titles are pretty damn cliche. There is something about this damn album though, I can't stop listening to it, and I guess it's my duty to explain why.

I'm sure everyone who reads this blog is well acquainted with Begging For Incest. They released a few demos a few years back which were quite mediocre Waking The Cadaver worship. That meant they were pretty damn bad in all honesty, but something happened here. It's almost as if they decided to buckle down and attempt to make something worthwhile, to create something that would stand the test of time, and prove that they were more then a clone of Waking The Cadaver. Oddly enough, they succeeded in a much different way then I assume they intended.

Orgasmic Selfmutilation did not succeed on making something that stands out, at all, but it did succeed in making 28 minutes of the funnest slams and beatdowns ever put on CD. Seriously, I cannot stress this enough, this album is incredibly stupid. This makes Cephalotripsy look like Dream Theater when you break it down, but it is just so damn catchy. Begging For Incest mix beatdown breakdowns (sometimes misunderstood as deathcore breakdowns, but there is a difference), and huge slams, in a way that makes you want to break everything around you. Hell, as I write this I am humming the slams from Bashed Beyond Recognition, it's that catchy. If I were to aliken it to anything, it would be Cephalotripsy's debut album, in how you know it is just plain fucking stupid, but it sticks with you even if you wish it wouldn't. Hell, they even throw in some intense epic melodic riffs a la Ancient Necropsy and Inveracity, kudos to that.

There really isn't much to be said about this album. Everything on it you've probably heard before, whether it be from a Abominable Putridity album, or a Waking The Cadaver album, but somehow these guys mix it together so well that you don't care about how retarded that sounds. The only real fault I can find within this album would have to be the vocals. They aren't really all that powerful, and sometimes detract from the listening experience, but thats just a nitpick really. I never thought I would say this, but Orgasmic Selfmutilation might be my favourite album of 2012 so far.

7 H.Target - Fast-Slow Demolition (2012; Coyote Records)

Wow, this is a good way to start off February. Welcome back, S-M devotees; here is the first great slam release of 2012. Russian Tetsuo-fanboys 7 H.Target are here to brutalize you with some intense and crazy brutal death metal featuring strong vocal offerings, a great snare tone and punishing slams delivered in a variety of ways.

This album pretty much wastes no time getting you acquainted with it other than by blowing straight out of the gates with a pinch-laden breakdown section featuring samples from their obvious favorite movie series. Big, meaty riffs are thrown down one after another before they decide to toss out all logic for a phasing drum segment and some Devourment-esque slam rolls. A funeral slam follows this section and almost seems to touch on incredibly slammy minimalism; I can safely say there's nothing like this album in the contemporary world of slam. Love the off-time slamming in the beginning of "Technosex"; this is the first part of the album where 7HT remind me greatly of Alienation Mental circa Ball Spouter, although there are way more coherent breakdowns on here and just a little less spazziness than those Czech psychos. About halfway through this song, there's some really Gorguts-ish craziness going on, and this band excels at deviating from the norm in a very similar way to those Canadians; Logan described this to me as sounding like the band was listening to the aforementioned band and Defeated Sanity at the same time while drunk and/or high and just being like "yep, this sounds awesome, let's record something like it", but it even hits a bit more straightforward at times, such as the rolling riffs and rhythms on "Metal + Flesh". This album just works, almost in spite of how much it feels ridiculous and over-the-top.

This is a crazy, awesome album. It's listenable over and over because of how intense and varied it is; the beginning of "Drill Penis" has some crazy fret-mangling guitar stuff and there are parts that just sound like insane techno-grind; while all the sections feel very different, they don't feel forced or jammed together unnecessarily. Almost everything on this album feels somehow organically connected, despite some sections seeming very separate. I appreciate the band's use of reverbed snare to hit "full stops" in songs, because continuity doesn't feel lost. There are even some really groovy slams which really hit hard and satisfy big time, but they generally don't last that long. Even though everything fits exceedingly well, it does feel like it has a bit of songwriting-ADD overall. It's incredibly enjoyable, though, in spite of its own ridiculousness. Perhaps the band members just realized this is amusing and fun shit and decided to make it sound as "serious" and "true" as possible, with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Whatever the case, you should probably all be listening to and loving this. It's diverse, entertaining and progressive slam with lots of surprises. Great shit from the Motherland. Hope this year brings more our way.