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Viral Load > Brutalized Beyond Belief > Reviews
Viral Load - Brutalized Beyond Belief

Whitaker's finest - 80%

satanhatta_, June 17th, 2013

We have this bald guy: Prominent musician in the brutal death metal genre, playing with bands like Insidious Decrepancy and Cerebral Bore, an absolute genius in fast riffs, slamming breaks, blast beat programming and growling your fucking head off. Now we listen to his first real release to the industry, and it has nothing to envy of his future job.

Song after song, this album grows and grows, the long ones like Isolation or Bashed Fucking Skull with thrashy riffs, groove bridges, slamming choruses and even with melodic parts that I could call "twin guitars". "Galloping upon the Entrails of the Dead" is another perfect example of what I am want to point with melodic parts and the true highlight of the album. The vocals are extremely low with some scratchy backing vocals, I believe those are from Whitaker. The bass is good I think, nothing too flashy, no bass solos, no bass fills, but not being inaudible, so I think is ok on this record.

I also want to make an statement about the song Crack Whore: fucking lame. Is the only thing I can complain of this album and I do not even certainly know why I do not like it. Is fast, brutal and even lyrically funny, but I just do not like it, at all. Just hear it and make your own opinion about it.

The lowest point, in my opinion, is the drum programming. It is not bad at all, sounds amazing with every song but I am not a fan of machines playing drums. Sometimes, even sounds a little "impossible" to a human and that removes the human factor of the music. But is all my opinion, some people likes programming and this will not be the exception.

I gave this an 8 out of 10 because of the programming (again, I like it, but prefer the human drummers) and my Crack Whore hatred. Out of this two aspects, amazing album, not to disappoint any brutal fan of metal. If you like Whitaker's work, definitely check this out, is probably his best work on this business.

Favorite tracks: Galloping upon the Entrails of the Dead, Bashed Fucking Skull and Lacerated Flesh.

"Beyond Belief" indeed - 91%

Cronos12390, November 20th, 2007

This album has some qualities I would love to see emulated by more death metal bands. To begin, I find the production of this record impeccable. Bass heavy, without compromising the trebly elements of the guitars. I believe the drums on this album are programmed, however, Shawn Whitaker is quite skilled at programming them, so it's unnoticable to only the wary and really takes nothing away from the songs. Mr. Whitaker's rhythm style is also something I find to be unique on this album. The riffs convey a lively sense of rhythm, bouncy and vivacious, perhaps melodic at times. When I hear some of the rhythms, I think of a sort of bliss derived from insanity. They are groove influenced, I'm certain (My Insidious Decrepancy CD's liner notes claimed the album to be dedicated to the life of Dimebag Darrell), however in a positive way. They don't fear slowing down (as evidenced by "My Mighty Sword") or having breakdowns, and the riffs aren't making overt attempts at being menacing (as some groove and death metal bands do) or technical, they simply are.

The vocals on this album lose it a few points, or rather, how they were recorded. Donny Hamilton, the vocalist at the time, has an impressive range, getting to near Lord Worm-ish levels in depth with his growls and ear-piercingly high with his screams. At times, though, he seems to have been too close to the mic, as the vocals have a tendency of sounding slightly muffled. He also had the habit of over-powering the instruments in terms of audibility which ,to me, is a no-no in death metal. The lyrics are mostly the standard torture/murder/etc death metal lyrics, though I thought the lyrics to "Crack Whore" were a little weird/funny. There are only two leads I can recall on this album, that one belonging to the tracks "Blisters, Scars, And Scabs" and "Bashed Fucking Skull". These leads were fairly minimalistic by death metal standards, not played in such a way due to technical restrictions, but rather to fit the songs best with some odd sense of structure and order. This CD is certainly one of Viral Load's best, if not the best.