Talk about brutal/technical/grind frenzy, this album is all over the place.  However, it does mesh together in unison.  The rhythm guitars are hard to follow because of their complexity, something that takes a few listens to before they kind of sink in to your brain.  A lot of tremolo picking going on here with chords and single strings, everything mixed well though, which is good because to have a bad mix to an album like this would do it a great injustice from all aspects.  I would tend to go with this as Cryptopsy's finest work.  You may disagree, but every album a band puts out is subject to speculation and criticism.  As long as it's constructive, it's good.

8 tracks of just sheer brutality.  Again, it's hard to follow the riffs because they're always changing.  The vocals are a combination of deep throat/somewhat screaming, but not to an extreme.  Mostly deep throat.  Lord Worm was replaced on this one, but still the vocals go well with the music.  They're not drowned out in any sort of aspect.  The leads on songs are technical and some even go into part of the vocals if you can imagine that!  But really, both guitarists show true talent and the originality on this album is what makes it so likeable.  Nothing that I've heard in the past or present that is like this, only for a couple of albums, maybe some Suffocation.

To not like this means that you have a despicable attitude towards extreme music.  There aren't a whole heck of a lot of blast beats, just a lot of tempo changes, mainly fast guitar, but when the double bass drums and blasting are going on, you can still hear the music.  Never been a fan of the lyrical concepts, but they do fit with the music quite well.  I'd say the horror, death, gore, etc. suits an album or band like this.  I don't think that anything they put out can equate to this.  There is just so much energy and originality going on here.  I think that this does justice for the entire genre of extreme metal.  I have not heard this album in years either!

If you're not able to obtain this one from any online source (which is doubtful), then YouTube has the collection of songs together for listening to.  This picks up from the scraps of which other albums do disdain.  Amazing that these guitars seem to fly all over the place, the leads again were well done, fast and furious.  Both guitarists contributing on that front.  So yeah, key into this one on YouTube to get a taste of severe divinity.  It's worth it.  Maybe extreme metal is not to your liking, but that doesn't make this effort something to damn.  Nothing is ruined by anything here.  Not the vocals, production or musical quality.  Check it out!

Rate: 95%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

I think that this release is a good combination of death metal in a brutal form and not as intense as say 'Whisper Supremecy.'  They have somewhat of a newer lineup, but still the riffs are good.  Their focus is less on technicality, it's more on the brutal end.  Of course a better production quality and the vocals are brutal, low end-bellows, combine that with some screaming.  So there is some variety, but not as intense as say on their older albums especially if you follow them or have followed them for quite some time.  Their concepts are mainly gore, not too appealing, but it fits the music as does the vocals.  They're more brutal than what I heard from 'Whisper Supremacy.'

The main guitars here are chunky sounding, low tuning concentrated mostly on a more death metal output than anything else.  So yeah, I like this album and it's a great comeback, but still my belief is that their older material was more classic.  They didn't really progress, they kind of digressed.  The drums aren't as intense as older albums, the leads not as sharp, still good music.  A lot of tremolo picking and in some instances, as weird as it may sound, a tad bit of jazz style guitar before the intensity of the next riffs come into their own.  Definitely an album that's for people into extreme metal.  Older releases for me were easier to get into because they were so damn intense.

This album is as I say a great comeback album, is original in it's own way, recording quality really good and songs that are just brutal as all hell.  I think that they really focused on the gore aspect, as you would expect something that say Cannibal Corpse would put out.  Not Cryptopsy, but they did anyway, turned out to be a great recording, but still a "B" average, that would be because of the fact they rather explore different avenues of extreme music.  A great listen to if you're needing something that just blasts you away, just don't expect something that's in the vein of extreme technical metal that they once were.  They're still somewhat technical, but the bar chords and tremolo picking are varied.

I really like what they've done here, but nothing's as solid as 'Whisper Supremecy.'  The reason is because the riffs are as I desribed, less technical, the vocals deeper with intensity, however, they weren't as intense as on older releases.  They wanted something brutal which is what they got here, just don't expect overtly technicality, even though it's still a talented band.  If they disbanded and wish no more to contribute to extreme metal, this is a good one to leave in its' trail.  But for me, my favorite will always remain to be 'Whisper Supremacy.'  Nothing tops it's extreme terror as that album.  Still a solid comeback and brutal as all hell, justs not as technical.
 
Rate: 85%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

Old Napalm Death is dead, long live old Napalm Death.  As much as I like this album, nothing equates to 'Harmony Corruption' or even 'From Enslavement To Obliteration.'  The early grind days were great, so was 'Scum' and 'The Peel Sessions.'  I mean if you want chronic crazy blast beating with grind/noise, then old Napalm Death is for you.  But here, they take on much more of a death metal oriented style, which isn't bad, just don't expect to hear any of what was featured on the early grind years.  There are some blast beating going on, but it's solid musically and they've definitely progressed, but lacked the extremity that was retained on older stuff.

I'd have to say that I was expecting to hear just utter crap on this album, but I was sadly mistaken.  ND really delivers with the riffs here and keeps you interested the whole way through, even though it is slower.  I still think that it ranks in a good rating despite what other critics of the band think.  I think that this is a really solid put-together and everything seemed to flow fluently on here.  No real objections, just the intensity.  The music is way slowed down and definitely a more solid production than earlier days.  It's good that Jesse was on this one too along with Barney, Mitch and the newer drummer Danny.

Definitely think that if Mick Harris was still with ND, I don't think that he'd let them slow down.  But Mick doesn't even play the drums anymore and only owns a pair of drumsticks.  If you caught 'Live Corruption', he said that their musical ability was getting better which it was, but why did he have to leave the band?  That really created a lot of turmoil between him and Mitch.  I doubt that they even talk anymore.  I remember them having a quarrel about a year and a half ago on Facebook.  It wasn't pretty.  Mick kept them extreme and I think Mitch wanted a more death metal oriented ND which is what's featured here.

Not saying at all that the band members slacked off on their musical performance here.  They captivate the listener with pure in your face death metal.  I really like this album because it's just different.  Somewhat groove oriented with the riffs, not a whole lot of backup screams by Mitch here, and good that Jesse was still alive to keep them doing what they do best--kill on the guitars.  There aren't a lot of tremolo picking on the riffs here, there's more chords and fast picking, kind of like some groove thrash.  Barney displays a little bit of clean measures here, but really brief.  The production quality was really really solid.

No complaints on this one, just don't expect that much fast blasting.  Expect a more death metal ND, not grindcore or even death/grind.  Just mostly death metal.  It's really noteworthy and the music really sticks.  Awesome what they were able to produce here.  There is SOME tremolo picking going on, but not blasting.  I think Mick was the fastest blaster ever.  Those were the glory days, now onto a newer type of ND, something that I thought would never happen, but it did.  They put on one helluv a live performance though, even with the newer material and Jesse no longer with the band and living period.  Expect diversity.

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

I thought that this was just mere average.  Didn't think that the band put in enough effort to get a higher rating.  Even though it's all the original members, I still felt that they could've done better in the lead department.  The bass guitar could've been a little bit louder as well.  They were on target with the rhythms though, so in that aspect, it was good.  I just felt that the Hoffman brothers could've dished out better more awesome leads that they did on the albums.  But nevertheless, I think that the whole album was about average.  Nothing captures the intensity of the earlier material.  They only played 1 track from 'Legion' which I deem to be their best album.

I think that they emphasized the songs more on 'Once Upon The Cross' and their tour album 'Serpents of the Light.'  Their first album I don't think they really were up to par on--not nearly as fast and Glen could've emphasized more on screams then low end vocals.  I remember reading that he said that he was drunk when they recorded their first release.  I don't doubt that, but he sounded like he was possessed on that one.  I think it was his best output.  The low end vocals just bore me, he doesn't put in enough intensity on, that was my issue here with this live release.  It's also an issue with the more current way that he sounds.   On here some screaming, but not much.

Brian and Eric were on cue regarding the rhythms as mentioned, though they didn't really captivate me in the lead department.  There could've been more intensity and aggression.  It seemed that they lacked that.  But still one helluv an effort by the band altogether.  The drums were on cue, though the double bass was a little hard to hear.  I know live recordings are a little bit tougher to capture all of the sounds.  So in effect, it has a wear than on the studio versions.  It's up to the band members as well if they want to improvise or play what's strictly from the album.  I feel that they improvised a little bit on the leads and not so much on the rhythms.  Glen was mostly low end bellows.

They should've played more than 1 track from 'Legion', the only song they played was "Dead But Dreaming."  It was good though that they played a lot from the first album.  That one I think is the most intense Deicide release ever.  Their improvisation again was in the lead department, they didn't show as much intensity that they should've.  I don't care if they didn't have White Castle sliders that day, even if they did, they could've put forth a better recording than what was on here.  I'm not being hard on the band and I'm glad that at least the original members were with the band putting forth this effort that took place in Chicago circa 1998.

I wish that I could've attended this gig, but I caught them on a brief session on 'Once Upon The Cross' tour of which they only played for 15 minutes because someone spit on Glen.  After that they just walked off the stage.  Pretty disappointing.  But here they capture the audience with about an hour long live session, that I don't think is higher than a C rating.  But they still did a good job.  It's better than what they're putting out nowadays.  Without the Hoffman brothers, Deicide will never be the same.  I think that a lot of people

Rate: 75%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

From just 30 minutes of audio, Deicide unleashes their most evil and demonic release ever! With backup screams that makes Glen Benton sound like the antichrist, the most original and unrelenting musical genius comes about. I’ve never heard a Deicide album sound as so evil in its’ entirety. Not even Legion can top this death metal release that deserves utmost praise. Such original riffs to the songs featuring solos that are remarkably fast and furious. The lyrical concepts have always been the same by Glen, complete and utter blasphemy without any letup.

The Hoffman brothers on guitars here featuring solos that are ferocious. It’s difficult to distinguish who’s solos are who’s since both members share a similar amount of talent. In regards to the music, you have time signatures that are all over the place. Down picked riffs then enter heavy tremolo picking which gives the album diversity. Chords galore alongside Glen’s most Satanic vocal efforts within their entire discography. Glen admitted to doing a lot of heavy drinking before entering the studio to record this album. But that’s obligatory.

What counts here the most is the music. With so many passing years growing worse and worse, their debut and Legion are the 2 most amazing Deicide albums in existence. But on their debut, there is complete evil with vocals that screamed out it utter brutality alongside backup studio effect screams with it. Every song on here is entirely original in regards to the riffs, the solos and the overall musicianship. Songs like “Lunatic of God’s Creation”, “Sacrificial Suicide” and “Dead By Dawn”, these dominate the whole album. But every song is good no matter which one you choose to dissect and analyze.

Utmost intensity on every song and one song about Mr. Jones called “Carnage In the Temple of the Damned” which opens up history of blasphemy in the making. The ideas and song structures make Deicide what they were during the early days: a blasphemous, unrelentingly evil and demonic death metal band that used to have such utmost talent. Be it age, laziness in songwriting that they became over the years, their debut is on of the strongest outputs to date. The music is without a doubt so extreme and brutal with everything that you could massively tell that these guys meant business for Satan.

Their unique style of riff structures in each song kept this album flowing with so much intensity and adrenaline. Nothing could outwit this one. There is no comparison to this one that holds true for the band that that used to really dominate the death metal genre. Amazing how much they slowed down over the years and lost that total progression as musicians. Sorry to hear such a talented death metal quartet go to pieces. But what matters here is their debut and how much intensity involved in its’ making. A 30 minute death metal onslaught of precision. Don’t ever leave this one out of your death metal collection! 
Rate: 95%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

BRUTAL!  That is the bottom line here, just utterly devastating release.  I'd have to conclude that Butchered At Birth is still my favorite, but this one ranks up there with it also.  It has totally rapid tempo changes, gutteral vox, blast beating frenzies, gore lyrics, and blazing intensity.  I'd say that Butchered At Birth and this one are Cannibal Corpse's most admirable albums.  Nothing compares to the originality of the song structures and blindingly rapid changes with a solid production quality.

There concept I think here is just to put out something that just simply blows fans away ad nauseaum.  They've achieved that between the blistering intensity and leads that simply crush in whammy bar going off of leads that leave listeners just in awe.  The way that each song is put together features bar chords along with a ton of riffs that are mind boggling.  Barnes on vocals just crushes and most of his voices spews these gore lyrics and also there are a solemn few screams, but still there.

Mixing/production/sound quality is definitely a boon here and Tomb of the Mutilated is in a league of its' own regarding originality in songwriting quality.  These guys are so fierce and ferocious when it came to putting this one together.  A definite CC classic in my book.  It simply devastes from start to finish.  All of the riffs are put together with a total precision and it leaves the whole album up to analysis.  I hear chunky guitar/bass throughout and the quality of the vocals accentuates the songwriting quality.

It's good that they made an awesome follow-up from their previous, the rest of the CC albums with Corpsegrinder seem to sound the same -- not really different from the rest of their albums with Barnes out of the band.  The Bleeding was a little different than this one, but it was Barnes' last effort with the band before Corpsegrinder took over.  I'd say that Barnes made CC more brutal even though the guitars aren't way tuned down like they are now.  I think all of the succeeding albums are in B-Flat.

If you're looking for quality in brutal death metal that measures up to one of the band's finest releases, Tomb of the Mutilated hits home.  Even though this came out in 1992, the intensity, brutality, production quality and guitars are what really hits home here.  They seem to keep declining nowadays and this one along with Butchered At Birth are in my own voice 2 of their greatest ever.  Never stopping with fury and intensity along with disgusting artwork, you'll find this a classic I think as well.  Own it, now!

Rate: 90%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

As much as I like the lyrics to this album, I think that the raw production sound made the sound kind of flat.  This release is a mix of death metal combined with grindcore.  This takes us back to the early days of hearing old Napalm Death via Lee Dorian and old Carcass via Reek of Putrefaction.  No surprise that Oscar Garcia (Terrorizer) is on guitar/vocals to have us revisit these days of what early grind was like and the mixing/sound quality reminiscent of those band's grind days.

The music varies, but overall I'd say that it's a good blend between thick guitar chunks immersed in some grind frenzies which didn't exist in eternity with this album.  They are not just blast beating galore, it's a mix and it really hit home with me, especially the efforts of both guitarists and the band as a whole.  A 4-piece here and some solo frenzies via whammy bar plus arpeggios and screechy lead guitar work.  The main focus here I think was to stay underground and dish out about 30 minutes of utter craziness.

Oscar reminds me a lot of Lee Dorian, just not as deep throat as he was.  There aren't a plethora of grind bands that I know of these days.  Napalm Death turned more into death metal as opposed to pure grind of the early days.  Nausea revisits the early days of these bands, not the band themselves, just a comparison when grind really became intriguing with the gruesomness and noise it seemed to be like in the mid 80's to the early 90's.  This band has been a mix of death/grind, but it's the first time ever hearing them.

Expect the rawness sound of the recording and you will hear the guitars blast bar chords mixed with tremolo picking style riffs.  It's a definite good listen to.  I found it on YouTube, this album at least and decided that it was good enough to own a physical copy of the CD.  I like the brutality and rawness, the lyrics are also well sought out in topics that cover war, politics and religion.  I don't agree with the religious aspect, but they have some pretty cool political commentary here as well as rage war of nowadays tyrannys that exist.

If you're into and like that death/grind raw sound to these genres, then Condemned To The System is definitely worth looking into.  Grind is tough to find nowadays and Nausea really hits home with good music alongside some fast riff frenzies and deep throat mixed with some screaming.  So much of what I liked in the early days of grindcore, but they mesh the death metal aspect of the album, so you'll get both combined.  The music is original and addictive.  It's really under 30 minutes of pure awesome music!

Rate: 80%/100%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

After more than 2-3 pure doses of this album, I can't see how I could give it any more than a C-.  The boon was that the songs lasted an average of about 5 minutes in length, but the music was nothing special.  The guitar music contained some fast licks, but the originality lagged and the overall construction of the songs were a tad less than average.  Most metalheads agree that the music is the most important factor in determining the quality of an album, not necessarily the lyrics.  That I agree with remarkably.

The flat production plus the nagging snare drum alongside vocals that were mostly hoarse and deep-throated with occasional screams kind of were annoying.  I couldn't get into this one no matter how hard I tried.  Another boon were the leads, but with the mixing not well done, kind of raw, it didn't strike home with me.  I suppose their whole concept was to build something that was heavy and somewhat fast, but the guitars weren't that special here and I don't see how they can achieve a higher rating than what I'm giving it.

Some of the guitars sounded like something I've heard from other bands, mainly demonstrating their influences.  What are featured here are songs that are much like a thick tone with crunchy licks that don't really stand out.  All 4 members of this band would've probably be ranked higher than mine if the production quality was better.  If you could hear the guitars more fluidly, then it would've been a better album overall.  However, it's tough nowadays to make a death metal album that has a sound quality with unknown bands.

The snare drum the whole way through was kind of what I thought to rather brainwrenching.  But it is do with the average production and if the band had more income, maybe all instruments would've been done in justifiably.  So yeah, the music just wasn't anything that stuck in my head.  They just took on average riff ideas and turned them into 50+ minutes of boredom.  The band has a bright future if they can make more honorable music.  It was difficult to hear exactly what they were playing riff-wise.  Heavy muting totally.

All in all, the music wasn't very strong and the vocals were kind of boring even though there were 2 members doing them.  I'd say if they could've constructed more memorable riffs, then that would've made up for the lousy sound that the production emitted.  The band has a bright future if they write songs that were more bearable, not just average, or a tad below average.  You can possibly YouTube this album and see if you think the same way about this one.  I would recommend holding off on purchasing this one, no flare really.

Rate: 70%.  

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

All I can say in one word is: BRUTAL!  Well, much more than just that, but it's my contention in full summary of this 11 track/40+ minute death metal frenzy.  Solid production quality along with crunch tone guitars and tempos that fluctuate somewhat rapidly.  However I'd say that their guitar riffs are thick as well as original sounding.  The good production makes use of these heavy palm muted axe's strings and solos that are blistering.  Definitely a good investment though I can't really relate that well with the lyrical concepts, but that's alright, the music is what counts to me.

What you'll hear aside from what I have described already are all sorts of heavy guitar and deep throat vocals plus a modicum of blast beating.  I'm glad that this album is more than just like that of Kataklysm (not to discount them) in blasting because what I heard is that they are pretty much to the frontman of Cardiac Arrest "slam stuff."  On Controlled Elite, Dehumanized doesn't offer anything that is superly original, but they do have good ideas in terms of how they formulate their music.  The vocals most of the time are just deep throat like Glen Benton on Insineratehymn.  Kind of in the vein of that sound if you own that album.

I'm not certain what these guys have in store for their future, but on here what I heard is definitely quality.  They are not a rip off band or boring in any way.  They are a band that you can listen to especially this release and just totally get into if you're in the mood of hearing some thick death metal.  The drums aren't too overpowering and the double bass doesn't sound augmented by too much technology like some bands are doing now.  They seem pretty well done and well in tune with the whole of the guitar work.  Definitely a good job there.

Some chaos yes, some high end screams, but like I said, most of it is deep throat.  This band is a 5-piece and let it be known the band members as follows including their place in the band: George Torres - drums, Anthony Cossu - bass, Michael Centrone - vocals, Rich Nagasawa - guitars and Paul Tavara - guitars.  Both guitarists show tremendous talent in the lead department and the music that they created here certainly kicks some serious butt.  I would say for a 2012 release, this album definitely shines in all departments.  I especially respect the fact that most songs range between 2 and 1/2-7+ minutes in length.

If you are big into death metal with innovation in the guitar department or just want to hear something that's brutal if you're not a guitar player, but are big into Metal, Controlled Elite is definitely an album that I truly respect immensely.  Their concept here it seems to just focus mostly on brutality.  The blast beats are there yes, but not extensively.  Tons of double bass kicks to augment the music and make it sound even more mind blowing.  What a great album and if you're not convinced after you hear this respecting death metal, something is wrong with you!  Pick this one up ASAP!

Rate: 85/100.

Reviewed By Death8699: ([email protected]

It's hard to believe that this release is 20 years old now!  What a great contribution to the metal community though, Slayer didn't lose it here even with Lombardo not in the band.  The music at times is intense, original and aggressive.  Definitely worth checking out for Slayer fans who don't own this one.  Araya still dishing out some hardcore lyrics and throat that defies the laws of logic.  Tempos vary widely and everything here is totally original.  The riffs really keep the songs ripping!  I would definitely emphasize aggression, atmosphere and sheer domination with songwriting as well as production quality.

Lyrics filled with hate, leads blistering fast and furiously by King and Hanneman (RIP), the entire band really did a great justice here with this one.  I was so used to hearing the amazing 80's era of Slayer, they slowed down a bit on this one and focused more on catchy riffs as they are definitely notorious for.  Less of an emphasis on the "antichrist", more on just negativity and "real life" scenarios.  I would say what grabbed me the most here is the music and vocals plus Paul did good behind the set.  There are a lot of tempo changes on this one as well as some clean tone guitar work.

Slayer borrows from no other as they've always thrived on aggression and hate filled words as well as extreme thrash metal!  Araya was totally crushing here even though you'll hear a few clean vocals here, not much but they're still on here.  The whole band did a lot of work to make this album a definite success.  I would say that they didn't really compromise as they never really have.  36+ minutes of sheer devastating thrash.  The guitars are the key here.  The music was so catchy and tempo changes weren't drastic, though they thrived on definite destruction to your speakers!

Rate: 8.5/10

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).