III

The making of this album was an uphill battle from the get-go. High on Blood is one of the best brutal death metal albums of all-time, and I can only imagine how hard it could be to make new music knowing that it won't surpass your previous effort. Only a couple of bands managed to overcome these difficulties and make albums that nearly surpass their classics (e.g. Malignancy). Unfortunately, Deranged is not one of them. While I had high hopes for this album, instead of pulling off an Inhuman Grotesqueries, the band ended up doing a Clandestine.

Out of all the things that could have gone wrong, the Swedish brutalizers lost half of their lineup, and now Johan Anderberg is the one destined to fill in these gaps at the vocal and bass department. And believe it or not, he gets the job done and helps the band overcome this obstacle. His vocals are a lot like Fredrik Sandberg's were but with an extra hint of Cannibal Corpse. So if it's not the lineup change that "wrecked" this album, then what did?

It all comes down to the songwriting. The record is nothing more than background music. Obviously, that's not the worst thing to be, but no metal musician should be aiming for that. While some songs start energetic (e.g. Ripped, Raped, Randomized), they slowly but surely descend into the same uninteresting, lifeless brutal death metal cliché where the band is seemingly putting all their efforts towards making the songs sound heavy instead of engaging. I hate to say it, but this release feels like a collection of scrapped Cannibal Corpse riffs. There are exceptions obviously, but apart from 2 or 3 songs, they use the same style of solos, the same type of riffing with the "buzzsaw & odd note" approach and as I already mentioned earlier, even the vocalist sounds like a deeper version of Chris Barnes. Very exciting, right?

It's one of those albums that the more I listen to, the less I like it. That being said, it would be foolish to say that there are no great songs here. Death Tripping has my favorite riff on the entire record and the submerged effect they put on the vocals is quite refreshing. Festering... also has some chaotic solos to complement the above-average riffs. Yet, if there is one redeeming factor about the record that isn't specific to a song or two, then that would be the drumming. Just like on the previous two albums, they are extremely in your face, but thanks to their monstrous tone, I can't complain. I'll admit, the blast beats can get repetitive at times, but that's about it.

The thing that pisses me off is that it's not a horrible record. The band doesn't go out of their way to make garbage music like many slam bands do for example. However, it will bore you to death with its mediocrity. I don't know about you, but I would rather listen to something insultingly bad than something that makes me fall asleep.

The highlights of the album are Thrill Kill, Festering... and Death Tripping.