01. Fall of the Archetypes
02. Leviathan
03. Vita Adeus
04. Silent War
05. Syndicate Empires
06. Less Than Human
07. Threshold
08. Ashes of Civilization
09. Scourge
10. Mindprobe
11. Dark Tomorrow
Comment:
2nd full length by this legendary Death Metal act from Florida!! 16 years after their latest recording, the band is back heavier than ever with their well known brand of old fashioned Death Metal influenced by bands like SUFFOCATION, CARCASS, INCANTATION, BOLT THROWER, MORBID ANGEL...
These guys have been going for over 16 years and this is only their 2nd release!? madness! Anyways these guys are from Florida and wear their sound on their sleeves! All those bands from the early 90's ie Morbid Angel, Norcturnus, Cynic, Death and I suppose the New York counterparts Suffocation, Incantation (I know, they are from New Jersey). It's all here, folks! All mishmashed into one big brutal bonanza on 1 CD. Its also well worth pointing out that this CD is also released on the legendary, Dave Rotten's (of Avulsed - fame) label, Xtreem Music.
Upon first listen I thought the production was abit dodgy but it just took a little while to settle with my ears and get an overall vibe for the CD. There is a fantastic blend of technicality and simple chugga chugga breakdowns which is surefire to satisfy all death metal fiends. Even drawing some slight Black Metal influences but these are only slight. One would be forgiven if you thought this was recorded way back in the early 90's (the last 4 tracks actually were taken from a 94(?) demo) but however these sit beautifully with the newer recorded material so to me that just tells you how strong and consistent their material is. Each track here is written with almost the early 90's in mind. There is nothing here post 98 hahahha. I love it for thats exactly the way I operate too!!! Granted some of the riffs are plagerised which I persecuted a band in a review but as I made a point of, its how its executed and in context to the music that sets it aside. Clearly alot of thought has went into these songs and it shows.
A real jem of a CD, fans of the early 90's Florida/New York scenes you would be an absolute fool to miss this. Miss out at your peril!!
Originally formed in 1988, death metal troupe Killing Addiction released some presumably low-profile releases (one demo, two EPs, a split, and one full-length according to Metal archives before calling it quits. The January of 2006 saw them reform and this year sees them with release of brand new full-length Fall of the Archetype.
Well, it’s not quite brand new. Not completely at least, since the latter half of Fall… are songs from their 1998 EP Dark Tomorrow. Whether they made any changes to the song between that 12 year gap is unknown to me, but if their older material is anything like Fall of the Archetype, it’s goddamn unsolvable mystery to me why they would’ve disbanded, even more so when they were situated in one of the world’s death metal capitals when the genre was blowing up. Shame that they didn’t get the time of day they deserved back then, with only one full-length, Omega Factor, to show for. I don’t doubt that said full-length is probably a cult-classic in the books of some death metal fans out there, but Fall of the Archetypes is their much-deserved second chance at unleashing some good ‘ol fucking death metal devil music on the unsuspecting metal masses.
Historical ponderings aside, what do these guys sound like that makes me so confident? Well, Killing Addiction play death metal as if they had never left the 90s. championing a virulent (at least these old-school death/thrash/you-fucking-name-t days) strain of old school death metal, with much more in common with traditional greats like Incantationor Entombed than Information Age techheads like Origin. Not a wholly accurate comparison, but it’s certainly a referencing. Killing Addiction have the gritty, full, rusted-chainsaw-shoved-into-your-gut guitar tone that revivalist bands would kill baby seals for. They’ve got the whole raw classic death metal sound down pat – expansive powerful drum tones, innards rumbling bass, ominous cavernous gutturals.
I don’t think I need to tell you that these guys bust out many a sick riff, but for reviewing’s sake, I shall direct you to the opening riff of the title track, the opening riff of “Syndicate Empires”, and opening riff of closer “Dark Tomorrow”. Listen to those and tell me you can’t feel just the tiniest bit that the end is near. Yeah, didn’t think so. Putting the riffs aside though, Killing Addiction truly excel at merging good riffs with the precious (some might say largely lost) art of creating an oppressive, dismal, proper Satan-worshipping atmosphere. The ritual sacrifice and demon summoning occur mainly in the latter (the first half could be described as peasant-slaughtering, bloody rampages) half of the album. Incantation fans wouldn’t know what to do with the massive boners that demented tracks like “Threshold” or “Ashes of the Civilization” would give them. Hell, I wouldn’t. It sounds so gloriously terrible, so evil and wrong that it feels like I cold sprout horns during the next twisted lead or wave of blastbeats.
Since Killing Addiction probably went through their 90s lifespan with little recognition, so I sincerely hope this album marks a turning point for them. Satan knows they deserve it, ‘cos this is the real deal. Now quit reading this review, go sacrifice a goat, and check baby out.
Fall of the Archetypes looks like an album initially but turns out to be six new tunes and the entirety of 1998 EP Dark Tomorrow (the last thing they released before splitting up) tacked on as a second half. Killing Addiction reformed in 2006, after what seems to have been a brief career playing pummelling and unfriendly death/grind. Having completely missed their previous life, listening to this is like discovering that first zombie from Fulci’s Zombi 2. It’s not someone you recognise or ever knew, and all you feel is a sense of revulsion that this morbidly obese, decaying grotesque is shambling after you.
Because, far from the trendy tech that you might imagine from the title, this is as chundering and belching a slab as even the most unkempt basement dweller could ever wish for. The closest thing to flashiness is Gabe Lewandowski’s drumming (a guy who’s done time in the awesome Hellwitch), which has all the flailing, clattering verbosity of a less polished Flo Mournier. Riffs are fuzzy, churning guitar spectres and the vocals are scraped-out death rattles. Often the six new tunes seem like indistinct, murky shapes only occasionally given tangible form by jagged, urgent riffs like on Syndicate Empires.
Then, entering the second, 12-years-decayed half is like tripping into a concealed ditch and finding yourself neck, rather than waist, deep in slurry. Deathly lead guitar comes to the fore a little more, perhaps, but this is generally like listening to a drug abuser jabbering incoherently, with thunderclaps for vocal chords. Rustic as hell.
Kind of a weird effect overall, what with the rumbling noise of the riffing and the techy rattle of the drumming. All told, it’s not an entirely successful one, and I’ve found it isn’t so much any particular moments that slime their way into your memory, but rather just the overall aura of it. Interesting. Though I never registered your existence, welcome back, Killing Addiction.
Hamerykańcy z KILLING ADDICTION zaczynali dawno temu. Długo ich potem nie było, ale jakiś czas temu wyrwali się z letargu. Co nimi kierowało, tego nie wiem, azaliż mało to ważne w tej chwili. Płyta „Omega Factor” była dobra, jednakże nie będę się tu silił na bajdurzenie, że był to milowy krok w historii death metalu. Natomiast do zapoznania się z „Fall Of The Archetypes” nie zachęca zbyt mało urzekającą oko okładka. Ale płyt się słucha, a nie ogląda, więc odpalam. Co by posłuchać, nie patrząc na okładkę. Patrząc jednak na czas trwania kawałków powinno być w porządulu, gdyż na 11 numerów ogólny czas 40 minut to przyzwoity rezultat. Numery nie dłużące się, znaczy się będzie napierdol! No i zaczyna się konkretnie od tytułowego. Mocne, nieco szorstkie granie, wściekłe wokale, wrażenie, jakby opętany grizzly miotał się po małej klatce. „Leviathan” to następny lewy prosty. Prostolinijne gitary rozjeżdżają w „Vita Adeus”. A młóckowate tempo z takim charakterystycznym wyhamowaniem w „Silent War” olśniło mnie ostatecznie. Toż w tej muzyce można się doszukać podobieństw do nieodżałowanego CANCER! Może jakby na nieco podkręconych obrotach. Dalej weźmijcie ten oklepany, charakterystyczny riff w „Syndicate Empires”, to jakby jeden z filarów nurtu death. Jest toże miejsce na większe wariacje, gdzie KILLING ADDICTION pokazuje szpony i podkręca tempo, dorzucając skrzekliwe wokale, jak w furiackim „Treshold”. Do mankamentów, bo wiadomo, że nigdy nie może być za różowo, zaliczę miejscami zbyt nachalnie brzmiące stopy i słabsze fragmenty jak w „Ashes Of Civilization” (niby ten utwór jest bardziej agresywny, ale momentami nużący) czy „Scourge” (zarzuty jak wyżej). No i nieczytelny, huczący wokal w ostatnim songu, choć sam song jest całkiem si i też przyśpieszają tu wręcz histerycznie! Pokombinowali panowie również za mocno w „Mindprobe”, kawałek ma zarówno zajebiste, jak i chujowe riffy. Jasno się wyraziłem, no chyba, zaciemniać nie ma co, to nie nalot. Podsumowując, jest niezły napierdol na płycie „Fall Of The Archetypes”, więc jak kręci was brutalna muza, to wiedzą czego i gdzie szukać.
Killing is an addiction millions of people around the world suffer from. Over the long term, killing leads people to develop health problems like heart diseases and many types of cancer. Since a few years there are laws that prohibit killing in public places. Killing is an addiction that is terribly difficult to overcome; a few relapses before you manage to quit for good are possible... Uhm, I'm getting a little off-topic here, aren't I. Where were we? Oh yeah, I was about to tell you how much this album totally slays.
Clearly influenced by the Floridian bands that stood at the cradle of the death metal scene, Killing Addiction released one proper full-length back in the day when you just started cultivating that very impressive beer belly you now have/were still shitting your diapers/were only a twinkle in your father's eyes, broke up at the end of the century, reformed about ten years later and made another record as if they only took a nap. This has old fucking school written all over it.
The album - or should I say raging slap of straightforward death metal - actually consists of two parts. On the one hand you have five bonus-sort-of songs that already appeared on a rare 1994 split cassette (seriously, can it get any more old school than this?). The first six tracks of the record are newly recorded, and sound indeed a little more mature, maybe a little less ruthless but just as aggressive and uncompromising as the older songs.
Furthermore this band has not a single clue what is going on in today's metal world. Killing Addiction stay remarkably loyal to the early Florida death metal sound, and keep it unpolluted from any modern influences. Killing Addiction don't need any knives, guns or nuclear bombs, they'll kick your ass just as hard as in the bare-knuckle boxing fight that is Fall Of The Archetypes.
There's no denying, this record is so strong and primal you will beg like the little dirty girl you are to make it smack you hard in the privates. This is the kind of blistering music that'll raise all the hair on your testicles. The kind of hostile album that'll make you want to do evil things to mankind - like eating babies or something. The equivalent of a shark attack while snorkeling... well, you get the point by now.
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