01. Carnivoracity
02. Cradle of Bones
03. Demoniac Possession [Pentagram]
04. Morgue Defilement *
05. Bodily Ransack *
06. As I Behold I Despise [Demigod] *
07. Gangrened Divine Stigma *
08. Cradle of Bones *
09. Deformed Beyond Belief *
10. Carnivoracity *
11. Matando Güeros [Brujería] *
12. Outro - M.C.E.D. *
(*) Live bonus
Comment:
Re-issue celebrating the 20th anniversary of the classic debut EP by one of Europe's most authentic Death Metal bands. Includes 8 bonus tracks, remastered sound and revamped design with liner notes. Death Metal in its purest form!!
Re-releases always remember me, how quickly time goes by. Twenty years after its original release on mighty Malodorous Mangled Innards Records, mastermind and vocalist Dave Rotten now re-releases this little treasure on his own lable Xtreem Music. No need to introduce AVULSED at this location at all and to speak about their leading role in the Spanish scene. Originally released as a seven inch EP, this reissue comes up carefully remastered, with overworked artwork and nine live bonus tracks. It has been years now since my last listen to this EP, so this reissue sounds fresh and unused again to me. The opening track 'Carnivoracity' is a real underground old school Death Metal jewel and of course, their further releases were a lot better and their musical skills have improved over the years, but for me this is still the magic sound I fell in love with. Brutal sounding Death Metal with the love for gore and shocking topics. The deep and harsh grunts of Dave Rotten are fitting perfect to their dark and grind influenced sound. Also to write an eight minutes lasting song was not common in this genre, apart from the Gothic Doom bands. The middle part shows up some Doom Metal influences as well and makes this track really remarkable. The second track 'Cradle Of Bones' is another Death Metal monster, brutal and fast and influenced by the early Scandinavian Death Metal, with the deepest possible grunts. The third track 'Demonic Possession' is a cover of Chilenian masters PENTAGRAM, sounding like a speeded up version of DEATH or POSSESSED. The remaining nine tracks including outro are all raw live recordings with two cover tunes of DEMIGOD and BRUJERÍA. The live speed is higher than on the studio recordings and for fans of live recordings only. What is captured well is the underground mood of old concerts. Nice to have but also a re-release as a seven inch with three tracks only would have been enough for die hard fans or for fans of early 90s Death Metal.
Die Originalaufnahmen dieser fulminanten Death Metal EP der Spanier von AVULSED haben in 2014 satte 20 Jahre auf dem Buckel und so ist dieses Re-Release auch nicht übel, vor allem, weil die Labels hier einen Haufen Bonus drauf gepackt haben.
Das Titelstück ist eine Mischung aus purer Raserei und extrem fiesen, schleppenden Death Metal, die gerade durch den röchelnden Gesang von Dave Rotten so richtig bösartig wirkt. In den über acht Minuten Spielzeit toben sich die Spanier total aus und haben eine richtig zeitlose Nummer geschrieben, die einzig und allein mit dem etwas dünnen Drum Sound an Druck verliert. „Cradle Of Bones“ ist genau so ein Death Metal Schlachtfest, wo die Growls einfach geil rüber kommen und das Stück auch in Sachen Tempo kaum vom Gas geht. Als drittes Stück im Bunde der Originalaufnahmen ist „Demoniac Possession“, das eine coole Cover Version von Pentagram ist.
So, jetzt aber zum Bonus Material, da reihen sich insgesamt neun Live Songs ein, die allesamt richtig schön roh, gesanglich genau so derb und vor allem mit den Bass Drums voll fett batschen. Ehrlich gesagt gefällt mir der Sound der Live Stücke besser wie die Originalaufnahme und so sind Songs wie „Morgue Defilement“, „Bodily Randsack“ oder „Deformed Beyond Believe“ einfach brutal und umwerfend heavy.
Hier sind meiner Meinung nach klare 8,4 von 10 Punkten drin, allein schon wegen den Live Songs.
Old School Death Metal is, oftentimes, magical. The music on offer is nearly always so good that it transcends poor sound quality and lack of (serious) musical technicality. Many early Death Metal records still stand up today because of how good the music and the mood on them are. AVULSED, hailing from Madrid, is one such band. They have steadily put out several great examples of Old School Death since their inception in 1991. Their first EP, "Carnivoracity", is one of the best examples of the way this type of music should sound; it's fast, low-fi, and above all, it sounds as gross and gory as the subject matters in their lyrics. To celebrate it's twentieth anniversary, the band have re-released this three song record, along with a bevy of fantastic bonus live tracks, which encompasses their best material from their twenty plus years as an outfit. It's clear to see why the band was so eager to get it reissued.
The opening title track is a long affair, clocking in at nearly nine minutes. On this particular track, perhaps the best thing on offer is the vocals. Although the music is also second to none, Dave Rotten's vocal styling is the centerpiece of this masterpiece. Unlike many modern vocalists, who resort to grunting and growling unconvincingly, Dave's singing seriously sounds like death, and is on the verge of out of control (in a good way of course). "Cradle of Bones" and “Demonic Possession (PENTAGRAM)" are more of the same; good quality, brutal and intense 90's Death Metal. The bonus features, which make up for three quarters of the music on this release, is a great addition to this reissue, and helps to illustrate that this band have been busy in the interim since its initial release. A look back at the band's back catalogue in a live setting will no doubt be a treat for their die hard fans.
This is a really solid release, although I don't think that putting live renditions of the songs already on the EP were entirely necessary when some of the bands other songs could have been featured. This band has, as I've said, been busy in the meantime, releasing their latest album, "Ritual Zombi" about a year ago. Although their sound has altered drastically in those twenty years, it's nice to look back over it, if not for the sake of nostalgia, then for comparison with their most recent offerings.
Twintig jaar na de release van Carnivoracity brengt het Xtreem Music van frontman Dave Rotten deze Spaanse klassieker opnieuw uit, samen met al het livemateriaal dat hiervan destijds een full length maakte. Een fijn verzamelitem voor wie de geboorteplaats van de Spaanse deathmetalscene wil herontdekken.
Muzikaal is het allemaal niet zo indrukwekkend, titelnummer Carnivoracity duurt om de een of andere reden acht minuten, maar zelden een goed teken bij old school death. Geen vernieuwend of verrassend nummer, net als opvolger Cradle of Bones. Neen, een echte meerwaarde biedt deze heruitgave niet, al moet wel gezegd worden dat het livemateriaal wel erg sterk is. Het klinkt heel wat beter dan twintig jaar geleden en vooral de vocalen van Rotten zijn indrukwekkend. Spijtig genoeg zullen de vele Spaanse bindteksten, ondanks de enthousiaste reacties van het publiek, niet aan de gemiddelde Zware Metalen-lezer besteed zijn. Het is duidelijk een fijn en een sterk optreden, maar er is denk ik niet veel volk dat zit te wachten op Spaanse lolbroekerij. Dit is misschien voer voor verzamelaars, al gaan de echte waarschijnlijk eerder op zoek naar het origineel.
"Hey, I know that album title and cover!" is my first thought when I see Avulsed's 'Carnivoracity'. And that is correct, title and cover (in a slightly different verison) are from the 1994 7" EP, which was Avulsed's first real release, after a couple of demos and splits. In 1995, a CD version was also made available and now there is the twentieth anniversary edition. The three tracks that were on the original EP are on it (amongst those a Pentagram cover, 'Demoniac Possesion' - that's the Chilean Pentagram, mind you!), as well as the bonus live tracks that can be found on 1995 CD version. These live tracks - recorded in 1995 - mainly consist of EP tracks and some stuff that later appeared on 'Eminince In Putrescence', plus some Demigod ('As I Behold I Despise') and Brujeria ('Matando Güeros') covers, and a little bit of 'Raining Blood' by Slayer. So, nothing new? Well, 'Carnivoracity' got remastered. If you have the 1995 version though, that is no reason to spend your money on this release - unless of course you are a collector suffering from OCD and/or an Avulsed fan. If you do not own a version of these tracks yet and if you like Avulsed, you could get yourself a copy. The three original EP tracks showcase a young version of the band and the live tracks are a time capsule from the mid nineties, where a twenty years younger Avulsed mainly have a lot of fun playing death metal in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The sound quality is not the best - hey, what do you expect from this kind of oldschool recording? - but I have heard far and far worse on expensive bootlegs. Nice release, especially interesting for the Avulsed fans among you - and the nostalgic! 'Carnivoracity' will be made available on CD and 12" red-and-black splatter vinyl.
Avulsed is one of those magical death metal bands who've been around for the better part of three decades and have the kind of unholy dedication to gore and brutality that made the old school scene so wonderful. Sure, this re-release of their classic Carnivoracity is nine kinds of fucked up, but ultimately, that's the beauty of the thing. As you feel the harsh growls and hyper speed riffs kick in it's hard not to acknowledge the primal glory of this band. Sure, Avulsed may sound subhuman, and their lyrical content may be gruesome, but in all honesty, it just adds to the glory.
There is something perverse about the mesmerizing melodic lines in these tracks. Avulsed capture the same sort of attraction to death that the American news media seems to have. What's important to note about this re-release though is that not only does it feature the expertly remixed original EP it also gives us lots of great live recordings. Avulsed are clearly metal lords, and the live stuff shows that despite it all, they are still out for a good time. On top of this is the added treat of an extra Brujeria cover (Which is also a live version) it gives this special edition a memorable closer. What I'm trying to stay is that there really is no better way than this to honor the breadth and majesty of Avulsed's career.
In closing we are left with eleven tracks (and an outro) that seem to speak to the eternal power of a genre that most fear. As Avulsed blast their way through these songs its easy to find the fascination with gore that led the band to become one of the biggest on their scene. It's impossible to listen to Carnivoracity and not want to start a circle pit. Avulsed understand the spirit of death metal and they get how to bring it to the people. This is the kind of band who make the underground so great, so why don't you just come right on over and feel the magic?
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