Consume the Forsaken

She Lay Gutted has a certain je ne sais quoi that is part of the reason it’s as great as it is. It has the tangibles as well: the mastery of instruments, the rancid atmosphere, a legendary vocalist at its forefront, but there’s an aura to it that no other record has that truly elevates it above its contemporaries. Consume the Forsaken doesn’t have that mysterious air around it, but in its place is an aggression so barbaric and vociferous that it doesn’t matter. It’s an album so uncompromising in its vision and so flawless in its execution that to consider it anything less than perfection is to be asking for your own ass kicking. Face, meet fist.

The most worrisome difference is the change in front man. Matti Way has a unique timbre, an innate creativity when it comes to patterns, and defies all logic in his ability to make inhales sound good. Surely losing his talent is to ensure a decrease in quality, right? Wrong. AJ Magana is not Matti Way, that much is obvious, but he doesn’t need to be, and in fact I’m glad he isn’t. Matti may be unique, but AJ is brutal. He is what I imagine a silverback gorilla in the middle of an HGH cycle would sound like if you gave one a microphone. There’s no concern for range or dynamics (though he has a couple impressive patterns), he’s only interested in being as loud, guttural, and forceful as possible. His being atop the mix facilitates this beautifully, always keeping him front and center as he bellows blasphemies at the speed of an auctioneer. Speaking of which, the writing here is great. And I don’t just mean “great for brutal death metal.” I mean AJ has written an entire narrative that he takes the listener through in vivid, captivating detail. Gone are the juvenile lyrics about rape and sodomy, instead replaced with illustrative story telling involving the Christian God of the Old Testament and his indifference in wiping out a mankind that betrayed him. Its impressiveness becomes twofold when you realize that AJ managed to keep interesting one of the most culturally ingrained Bible stories in Western civilization. Magana is inarguably the highlight of this release. He had some big shoes to fill and showed up wearing a pair of boots.

The rest of the band is just as impressive. Riffs are constantly introduced only to be tossed aside 20 seconds later for new ones, and an already meaty guitar tone is further bolstered by Ben Marlin’s thick, audible bass. He doesn’t have as many standout moments as he did on the band’s last outing, but he makes up for it with an impeccable performance on an album that’s 30% longer than She Lay Gutted. The drumming is also more engaging; Ricky calms down on the incessant blast beats a bit, replacing them with more creativity in his fills and cymbal work. The bass drum does maintain a bit of a click, but it’s never gotten on my nerves even after hundreds of listens. Production has improved as well with everything sounding full-bodied and resonant without venturing into overproduced territory.

Very few bands release classic albums. Even fewer release two. With this album, Disgorge did both and did so without compromise. Consume the Forsaken is the apotheosis of brutal death metal, the nailed bat to the skull that every listener longs for. It’s not concerned with any amount of nuance and doesn’t know the meaning of the word “subtle.” It bludgeons, batters, and bullies everyone into submission, and it’s a beating I’m glad to endure.

This album is the very definition of brutal death metal as far as I am concerned. This is the album that every new band tries to copy these days and fails, for it has spawned more clones than any death metal album since Suffocation's Liege of Inveracity. This being said, it is one of the most brutal releases to come out in the death metal genre.

Disgorge has become a staple in brutal death metal and I credit that to this album. Consume the Forsaken is an incredibly brutal, fast, technical, and aggressive compilation. Lets start with the guitars. The general formula for this album is power chord riff after power chord riff with occasional sixteenth notes, pinch harmonics, and slam riffs. I may sound like I am bashing on the album, but I am not. The power chord riffs in this album are not like those on a deathcore album as these are some of the fastest and most technical patterns you can create. Songs like Consume the Forsaken, Dissecting Thee Apostles, and Consecrating the Reviled really show off Diego Sanchez's talent of playing the guitar. If you play guitar, I challenge you to go find the tabs to any song off of this record and try playing it. You will gain a new found respect for it. The guitar is very heavily distorted and to a new listener it will sound like mumbled noise, but that it is not. The riffs are constantly changing and rarely do repeats occur. This constant barrage of fast and aggressive playing makes listening to Consume the Forsaken a very intense and brutal experience.

The vocals of A.J. Magana definitely compliment the music greatly. Although I prefer Matti Ways' growls over his (or almost anyone for that matter), A.J. can still do some sick gutturals. The vocal patterns are also pretty damn awesome on this album, especially in the title track, Consume the Forsaken.

The drums are your typical death metal drums and do their job. Nothing incredibly innovative here, but it fits the music. They are slightly lower in the mix than I would like, but it's no big deal.

The bass is generally audible at most times and sounds amazing. It takes one hell of a bassist to be able to play this well and Ben Marlin ( R.I.P ) fits that role perfectly.

The overall production on this album is higher than She Lay Gutted, but that of course is not saying much. This is not bad. In fact, I prefer it this way. A grimier production like this album has fits the music perfectly.

In conclusion, Disgorge's Consume the Forsaken is a top notch release. Any brutal death metal fan should already have this in their collection. This album's brutality, speed, and technicality, as far as I'm concerned, has still not yet been beaten. The only reason I give this album a 95% instead of a 100% is because I believe no album is perfect, but this sure as hell comes close, though.

Disgorge are a highly refreshing change of pace with the evolution of death metal seeming to gravitate toward obnoxiously flashy, pretentious, stale, and tame death metal like Necrophagist, Brain Drill, or Beneath the Massacre. On the death metal scale, Disgorge is the polar opposite of those types. This is fast, this is angry, this is emotional and raw. Disgorge is pure hate and rage, there is no room for pretentiousness and they are not out simply to prove how good they are at their instruments.

The greatest death metal is technical without being pretentious and brutal without being monotonous. Unfortunately, Disgorge's Consume the Forsaken definitely succumbs somewhat to monotony. I guess I'll start with the faults first, this is definitely lacks some depth, you won't find anything hidden about it the second or third time through. This is definitely a little predictable as well, lots of palm muted diad chugging. There's also some rather odd long chromatic runs that made Suffocation's first few albums great and seem to be lacking in modern death metal. Disgorge definitely aren't breaking any barriers here, but there are some catchy as hell, brutal as shit, fast Diego Sanchez riffs. Consume the Forsaken delivers on the necksnapping intensity that's been so lost in modern death metal, and they excel at this. This isn't something you can sit down with a glass of red wine and appreciate the intricacies of. I'd describe it as a deeply primal, testosterone drenched adrenaline thrill ride.

The production is absolutely perfect for the music, I wish they would have stuck with it and kept the same vocalist for their next album. The guitars sound very full and gritty, the treble and high mid frequencies are nicely emphasized with just enough bass to give it some force and fullness. The drums aren't perfectly EQed, and the bass drum is perhaps a bit too clicky, but it's not a huge detractor. The vocals are a huge strong point, I'd contest they're unrivaled the best brutal death metal vocals of all time. Maybe some of you remember the vocals on Behemoth's Demigod, how they were multilayered and you could hear a deep commanding low roar but a vicious piercing high scream accompanied it. AJ sounds like that even without multilayering, actually he sounds like that only coming from a 20 foot 2 ton superhuman giant with a severe case of rabies who's dismembering an elephant. If we can judge death metal vocalists by how angry they sound, this guy pretty much takes the cake. The vocals aren't clearly annunciated at all, just rage filled incoherent screams. However, AJ succumbs to James Lee Syndrome and tends to pack an entire novel into each 3 minute song. This isn't a terrible thing, as he's really good, but the vocals are very loud in the mix as well and it's a bit difficult to take everything else in, especially with the somewhat unclear production. The music itself is definitely technical, though in a much different sense than most people associate with the word, just extremely fast and with some odd time changes and a little strange chromatic run here and there. There's no neck pickup arpeggio wankery here, in fact the album is devoid of solos.

This is definitely something to be appreciated while lifting weights/running/exercising, it's brutal as hell and it'll pump you up. This is a quick fix hormonal injection, yet has surprisingly a lot of staying power unlike other albums in it's purpose and nature (...And Time Begins by Decrepit Birth), Disgorge don't tend to repeat themselves very often and there's just a whole bunch of riffs packed into each song. There's no subtlety here, nothing really different or interesting beyond the vocals. What it lacks in depth and novelty, it makes up for in pure adrenaline. If you're looking for something a little more musically sophisticated, definitely check out their 2005 effort, Parallels of Infinite Torture.

This is slow becoming my favorite Disgorge (US) release. I've always been one to swear by the Matti Way'era material because I believe him to be one of the sickest vocalists in the history of death metal. However, the quality of the music on this disc is quite undeniable.

First off, the riffing seems to have more thought put into it compared to She Lay Gutted and Cranial Impalement. It's not just non-stop chugging. Mind you, there still is quite a bit of it. This stuff is more varied.

The production is another big step up compared to previous material. The guitars are quite clear, but they keep enough heaviness as to not take away from the overall brutality. The drums cut through quite well and dont overpower the guitars. The triggered kicks do have a little too much of a click to them, but that is something I expect from most bands in this genre.

Vocally, I dont really have much to complain about. A.J. is a very brutal vocalist and does the songs justice with his brand of lows and the odd gurgle. Not quite in Matti Way's league, but he rips well nontheless.

All in all, this album really showed Disgorge's maturity song writing-wise. It's a wonderfully brutal album with some good riffs that stick in your head. If Matti Way was singing on it, it'd be one of my favorite death metal albums of the last few years for sure.