With a lot of major and more accessible slam/brutal death metal bands available, there seems to be a trend in these bands' sound transitioning to a cleaner, well-produced style of music. Call it a band's natural progression and development or their desire to reach more ears—especially given the smaller audience in the sub-genre. It's each band's right to choose their sound and create what they want. This evolution has crippled my interest in many bands and I am stuck more or less jamming the older albums that have the sound I enjoy more. I also have to dig deeper into the dark world of brutal music to discover new gems.
Enter, Heteradelphy. The first full-length album entitled Inundated With Decomposing Torsos arrives this week. This release comes after a self-titled EP back in 2016. This one-man band is led by Jacob Ning from Taiwan who only enlists help with vocals. Every other instrument is recorded by himself. Inundated With Decomposing Torsos is one of the most crushing and satisfying brutal death metal albums of the past two years.
The album itself is fairly short. None of the 9 tracks breach the three-minute mark. Yet, what is sacrificed in length is made up for in intensity. Fast moving lead riffs and twisting knotted chords work together until slamming breaks emerge. The riveting blast beats that have a ping won my heart over instantly. It is the staple of this album that keeps the tone and violent chaos cohesive and moving in the intended developing channel. Each track is as hasty as the last with membrane-stripping riffs that zest off layer after layer of skin until only a hard slick bone is exposed.
The turbulence and cyclonic musicianship are unquestionably well done. With the coupling of the extreme guttural belches and growls produced by Butters Chang, this grotesque album rests towards the top of my favorites so far in 2018. It takes a strong stomach to digest this release, and I am still working on it. I hope its complexity and brutal dialog has the staying power to be revisiting the rest of the year.
Score: 8/10
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