01. Aggravated Explosive Prolapse of the Bowel
02. To Cauge and Fuck the Sockets
03. A Dish so Sweet
04. Morbid Necro Extremeties
05. Slurping Rotten Remains
06. Obsessed with the Dead
07. Infestors
08. Violent Female Circumcision
09. Castle of Death
10. Death Devastation Decay
11. Hammer Smashed Face (Cannibal Corpse cover)
Comment:
Ultra-brutal debut album of this norwegian band featuring ex-BLOOD RED THRONE drummer. If you're into relentless brutal Death in the vein of SUFFOCATION, KATAPLEXIA, DISAVOWED, INVERACITY… this will blast your brains out!!
While I certainly review a good amount of it, brutal death metal isn’t a genre I’ve gotten into that much. Part of the reason for this is that too much of it sounds exactly the same and I have trouble remembering what makes each band unique. However, Norway’s The Sickening is one of the few that is actually sticking out for me as their debut album Death Devastation Decay boasts slick production values and some distinguishable riffs. It’s still not going to make the genre my favorite any time soon, but it is more listenable than some of the others out there and that makes a world of difference.
One of the main reasons that I find most brutal death metal bands unlistenable is due to the fact that they are mixed/produced so that only one element stands out. For example, some albums you can only hear the drums while on others you can only hear the vocals. Death Devastation Decay has a much better balance between all of the instrumentals and vocal arrangements and this makes the songs a bit more distinguishable from one another. The Sickening actually has some fairly technical riffs and listeners will be sure to appreciate the fact that the guitarists actually try out some different ideas from time to time. Admittedly the drums do become a little overpowering with their constant blasting and towards the end the songs begin to fall into the standard blast/chug pattern of the genre, but that may be unavoidable with this type of music and as a whole the effort stands out a bit more than expected.
Vocalist Sigve Stjernestov has one of the most distorted growls I’ve heard in recent memory, and while it sometimes sound as though he is using the pig squeals and croaking that is common in this genre it is often so distorted and noisy that it sounds completely different. While Stjernestov only changes his pitch a few times throughout the course of Death Devastation Decay for some reason his vocals never seem as though they are becoming grating or too repetitive. Considering how distorted the growls/croaks are it is impossible to understand the lyrical content, but with song titles such as “Violent Female Circumcision” you should have a pretty good idea of the types of themes The Sickening is bringing up throughout the album.
I don’t see myself listening to Death Devastation Decay for hours on end, but it is some of the better brutal death metal that I have heard in the past year or two. The production values and riffs are a lot stronger than most of the others out there, and if you’re a big fan of the style this album is one worth checking out. As of this time Sigve Stjernestov appears to have left The Sickening, but hopefully the group will continue on and find a new vocalist as they do have potential in a genre filled with average bands.
When it comes to brutal death metal I'm really quite picky, mainly enjoying a couple of later period Cannibal Corpse albums. On "Death Devastation Decay" The Sickness manage to encompass the majority of the conventions of the genre. From the gore-saturated lyrics, the disgusting almost indecipherable vocals, and of course the ratatata drum sound. Hell they even include a cover of "Hammer Smashed Face" so it's hard not to see what these guys are going for. These kind of bands are a dime a dozen, and while "Death Devastation Decay" remains inoffensive it is decidedly an average album. The only thing edging this from being completely middle of the road is the quality guitar work, which manages to keep the attention throughout with some headbangable riffs. Overall if brutal death metal is your cup of tea your going to find some fun with The Sickening, for the rest I'd say give it a miss.
Noruega tiene más que ofrecer en el ámbito del metal extremo que solo black metal, eso está claro. Con The Sickening ya nos podemos ir olvidando de ese cliché, porque han editado su segundo disco de death metal brutal y rápido con influencias americanas y técnicas, "Death Devastation Decay". Sin llegar a los extremos del techno death, tienen suficientes tablas como para poder tocar prácticamente cualquier cosa. De hecho, la ejecución es lo que más impresiona y es impecable en todo momento. El sonido es oscuro y un poco oprimente, pero permite escuchar bien los detalles de las composiciones. Las voces guturales tienen bastante protagonismo y suenan atonales y muy enfermizas, lo que le da al conjunto un toque underground y muy agresivo. El double bass es casi contínuo y una constante en todos los temas, algo que - entre otras cosas - hace que los cortes suenen un pelín monótonos y todos muy parecidos. Un poco más de variedad no les vendría mal, donde flojean es claramente en las composiciones, que suenan un poco estandarizadas y faltas de un sello personal y propio. Pero por lo demás "Death Devastation Decay" es un disco sólido, ameno y bien hecho, con sus toques de gore en los titulos, letras y portada, que encontrará sus fans tanto entre los death metaleros como en los más adeptos al goregrind y grindcore.
Nim przystąpiłem do nakreślenia tych kilku słów, musiałem zrobić sobie chwilę przerwy, będąc kompletnie skonfudowanym po tym, co usłyszałem na płycie „Death Devastation Decay”. Brutal ze mnie wprawdzie żaden i choć słucham niekiedy naprawdę pokręconego grania, zwykle preferuję nieco lżejsze odmiany metalu, to jednak stało się coś nieprzywidywalnego. Wystarczył drobny impuls pochodzenia bliżej nieokreślego, by cieszyć się jak mały dzieciak z muzyki norweskiego THE SICKENING. Fakt, miałem trochę w czubie, ale to nie znaczy, że jedynie w takim stanie album „Death Devastation Decay” jest dla mnie strawny. Zgaduję, że zbytnio się nie pomylę, jeśli napiszę, że w Norwegii na jeden śmierć metalowy zespół przypada kilka blackowych. Można być jednak spokojnym o tamtejszą scenę, gdy słucha się kapel takich jak ta. Bardzo dobre wrażenie robi już sama okładka płyty, ziejąca smrodem i zgnilizną, przedstawiająca pająkopodobną poczwarę. Brutalne łojenie, jakie uprawiają goście z THE SICKENING to coś, czego nie powstydziłyby się znane death metalowe amerykańskie grupy. Ta ekipa to prawdziwa maszynka do mielenia mięcha! Uprawiają ubój bydła zakrojony na niezwykle szeroką skalę. Wystarczy chociażby kilka minut obcowania z tym grzaniem, by doskonale zdać sobie z tego sprawę. Zaskoczeniem było w tym wszystkim dla mnie to, że pośród tych wszystkich riffów powodujących, że z uszu zaczyna wyciekać słuchaczowi lepka, śmierdząca maź, do której zlatują się muchy, zdarzały się bardziej lekkostrawne zagrania, w sam raz do miarowego bańkowania. Posłuchajcie chociażby „Castle Of Death” - szybkie i mordercze trzyminutowe cięcie. Miód. No i to szalone okładanie stopy i werbla przez większość albumu... Równie „ohydnie” wypada brzmienie, jakie nadano temu wydawnictwu. Wydobyto przezeń wszystko, co najlepsze... Tfu, co najgorsze tkwi w tych dźwiękach. Na tym jednak nie koniec. Dziesięć autorskich bękartów dopełnia jedenasty w postaci „Hammer Smashed Face”, stworzonego wieki temu gdzieś głęboko w Hameryce, przez pewnego nieprzeciętnego (choć tu zdania są podzielone jak poślady, a z nimi wiadomo jak jest, każdy ma swoje) zespołu. Cover ten wypada co najmniej równie krwiście co oryginał lub nawet, i tu być może bluźnię, lepiej. Co by to wszystko podsumować, zacytuję jedno z popularniejszych powiedzeń ostatnich miesięcy. „Ale to było dobre!”.
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