Descendants of Depravity

So, um, is this it? Is this band ever supposed to get any heavier than this? I mean, I feel a bit stiffed, probably sort of like how Dorothy et al. felt when they found out their mighty and powerful wizard was some crotchety old basement dweller. Prostitute Disfigurement are a band I've never paid much attention to, but it's not like it's due to my own lack of time to check them out. I listened to them once when I was maybe 14, said "huh" and just left them alone because they didn't really seem to be worth any attention. I'm only revisiting them just now because I just realized how baffling their position in the death metal scene is: namely, the fact that they're a staple of brutal death metal for conceivably no reason whatsoever. I'm not even saying that it's because they don't deserve it on a qualitative scale - it's just that this is barely more brutal than your average Suffocation clone and yet people will go so far as to compare them to Cephalotripsy and Devourment when they're, I dunno, one of those dorky bands that straddles the line right between regular death metal and brutal death metal. I guess it must have just been good marketing/image presentation on the band's part that managed to get their name past the main chunk of stupid mainstream BDM fans and into the ears of people who live, breathe, and shit slam; but goddamn, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't annoying. It'd be like if, I dunno, Job for a Cowboy managed to sneak into the ranks of the Incantation clone scene, despite the fact that Job for a Cowboy sound nothing like any of those bands. Now imagine that everyone else around you is fucking retarded and not only thinks nothing is suspect about this band's involvement, but they openly welcome it like an old friend returning home from war.

And you know what the fucking worst part about Descendants of Depravity is? It's actually not terrible, so I can't even rip into it as much as I want to. It's a relatively decent record, devoid of polish or particular pizzazz in any regard, but passable. Prostitute Disfigurement basically play a huge mish-mash of modern death metal styles that sounds nondescript on paper, but in execution it's actually even more nondescript than you'd imagine based on that. The first comparison that comes to mind is Dying Fetus, if Dying Fetus were a bit less wiggery; there's that distinct, "almost-to-Suffocation-but-not-quite" sound to it that isn't exactly watered-down from anything that already exists, but still feels rather lacking on its own terms. There are riffs that are get kind of chuggy but never venture too far off the deep end into *gasps* actual musical intensity; likewise, there's a fair bit of that Dying Fetus style of technicality that's "technical" by death metal standards but isn't really what you might call "technical death metal" - it's not ostentatious enough to meet the standards held by the genre by 2008, and come to think of it it's not really very interesting by tech-death standards either. Not all of the riffs are like this, though, as Prostitute Disfigurement also use a fair few riffs that are inspired by... something, I guess? They sound like rather faceless textbook death metal tremolo riffs, honestly; just like something you'd get from a store-bought "make your own death metal" kit. Slightly malevolent but not too malevolent, full of partially dissonant chords, rather repetitive structuring, backed up either by blast beats or thrashy tupa-tupas... maybe with a distinct, ever-so-slight tinge of black metal influence, but nevertheless it's really not enough to write home about. You've heard all of these riffs before.

The album kind of works in the sense that it's catchy no matter what it's doing, partially due to the notably decent vocal rhythm, but the songs themselves feel really boring when observed in the grand scheme. The riffs blur by without any standout melodies whatsoever, the song structures are unbelievably dry, and aside from the occasional solo or wave of "atmospheric" chords there isn't really much to write home about. The overall presentation - display this riff, throw some blast beats over it, here I'm feeling generous have some vocals too - feels really, really simplistic, and not in the face-crushing, almost mesmerizing Jungle Rot way but more in an awkward, underwhelming, visibly lacking manner. There's not really much of an atmosphere here besides "here is a death metal album with death metal musicians playing death metal riffs", which leaves Descendants of Depravity feeling really incompetent aside from providing some stuff to nod your head back and forth to. Even the Dying Fetus pseudo-BDM sections, which usually inspire at least some atmosphere of ass-kicking thuggery in the original band, just feel like they're "there" in Prostitute Disfigurement. It doesn't really help things when you take into account that Prostitute Disfigurement's vocalist isn't really very good at all, communicating mostly in a weak, gruff bark that somehow manages to simultaneously come across as melodramatic and totally boring. The higher rasps that tag-team the lower vocals really don't ever seem to help; they're slightly better, being less flaccid than their counterpart, but still nothing to write home about. And yes, I'm aware that Prostitute Disfigurement used more guttural-oriented vocals on their previous albums. Those outright sucked. I'm just going to forget that they exist.

Is there anything else to say about this? Band releases album that gets heavily absorbed into the brutal death metal community through some case of sheer dumb luck; said album is not only not brutal death metal, but also basic, boring, devoid of atmosphere, and incapable of displaying anything above basic competence. You guys should all go listen to Jenovavirus and forget that this exists.

I must say these guys have improved a lot. They became really technical and still maintain that heavy ass wicked riffing they always had, their vocalist sounds much more aggressive (although I do prefer their former vocalist) and the drummer sounds pretty intense, even though they sound kind of triggered. They could easily be compared with bands like Hate, Vader, Decapitated, Zyklon or even Kronos.

First of all the drummer Mike sounds pretty damn intense, with nonstop double bass parts, extremely ace blast beating and very elaborated chops. ''The Sadist King and The Generalssimo of Pain'' proves how much stamina he has, attacking your ears with superb beats at all moments. ''in Sanity Concealed'' is another good example. Now add their skilled guitarists Niels and Danny, which perfectly blend their savage riffs with Mike's drums. Guitars sound very solid with lots of catchy riffs and brutal passages, these guys know how to create truly brutal sounding metal, and of course, crazy solos aren't absent (''Storm of the fiend'' thou must hear)

With all these characteristics, there was something that made this album rating go down a little bit, which was the bass. Although it does have a nice tone, Patrick never stands out with his bass guitar. He's only following the guitar melody, and the tone could also improve a little bit. The bass does its job perfectly, but it never stands out, it's just there.

Now let me tell you their vocalist Niels knows how to pull some aggressive old school death metal roars. Again, nothing out of this world, but still worth checking out. Although I do enjoy their former gurgling voice and the high pitched vocals, I certainly think old school roars sound much more brutal

Definitely worth the 20 bucks I spent getting this album. Recommended for true metal fans.

For their fourth album, Prostitute Disfigurement came to the excellent Excess studios in April 2007, with a different face, burying their suffocating deathmetal and unintelligible growl. Raw and sometimes unbearable violence leaves place for brutality always present, but much more subtle and suggested. Equipped with a superb illustration of the Master by Olofsson, Descendants of Depravity was released in May 2008 by the brilliant Neurotic Records team (Visceral Bleeding, Psycroptic), a long year after its recording.

Similar to the last albums of Odious Mortem and Decrepit Birth, the band airs considerably his structures out, using now the brutality of its blast beats more sparingly, allowing it to increase the impact and the depth of his tracks, and therefore make them more digestible and hard hitting. Niels abandons his usual diarrhea to get a growl pure and articulated, sometimes superimposing an angry voice, which boosts all tracks very wisely.

Along with the technical drumming of Michiel, measuring his double pedal and blast beats with disarming ease, Roel and Benny play brutal and catchy riffs, often offset by half a tone, that qualifies and enrich considerably each track. Since the sharpened riffs of Killing For Company, until the crushing middle tempo of the formidable Life Depraved, through the frenzied solos of Carnal Rapture and the amazing final of Sworn To Degeneracy, Prostitute Disfigurement just hit with a violent manifesto and real finesse.

Perfectly calibrated by the production of Andy Classen (Krisiun, Sinister), both brutal and thin, Descendants of Depravity surprises at every instant by the balance of its compositions, producing one of the biggest slaps of the first half of 2008. Away from the hermetic style of Devourment, Prostitute Disfigurement combines brilliantly subtle and technical spheres, but has in parallel a delicious old school perfume, making his record darn catchy.

Fabien.

The world of brutal death metal is largely shunned by many. Reasons of this shirking vary from person to person, but everyone can agree that these days, there are clones upon clones upon exact clones of bands trying the same formula. Didn’t Einstein once say something like: Insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting a different result every time? Well, to put that quote into context, it would be the listener getting insane after hearing piles of brutall death metal, and expecting a different outcome each, when what most would think is, “brutal garbage.” Except repeat that infinitely.

Now, because I strive to be different (due to childhood, attention-whoring, what-have-you), I do love my death metal. I’m into other styles of metal also, but for me, death metal is the most enjoyable style for my plebeian brain. This includes all that wanky, technical stuff that others vomit at, such as Brain Drill, Psyopus, and Orgone. I like brutal death metal that others would hate, too, such as Hour Of Penance and No Emotions. But even I think that there are some that are not enjoyable, and because the scene is so big, there are going to be some bad bands that emerge, and that already have. So, where does Prostitute Disfigurement’s Descendants Of Depravity fit? I would say it’s almost smack in the middle: Nothing to separate it from the herd, but nothing to be ignored, either.

I guess that is the overall problem with this album – the fact that, yes, it’s enjoyable, but there is nothing about the album that makes it unique enough to warrant spins every day. This is a strictly by-the-numbers album that many other bands have done, and have done better.

There is one redeeming factor about this album, though, which can seem a little ironic to some of you reading this. Before the release of this album, Prostitute Disfigurement employed pig squeals in their music, which I am definitely not a fan of (a few exceptions do occur, but the bottom line is that they absolutely suck). I hated them, and I dismissed this band entirely for that sole reason. Sure, the music may have been good (from memory), but the vocal atrocities killed any pleasure I would’ve received from listening to it. On Descendants Of Depravity, the vocalist Neils Adams ditches that style completely and goes for more of a standard death metal growl. This has come to the ire of some past fans, but for people like me, it’s a welcome change. However, by utilising this style, he now sounds like a million other vocalists in the game. So by abandoning the pig squeals, which are shit, he’s gone to a regular growl, which is absolutely superfluous. You see the irony? Again, for me, it’s a change for the better, but for others, it’s a change for the…undecided.

As for the music itself, there really is very little to say. It’s basically your standard brutal death music – down-tuned guitars, blast beats, and a bass hidden behind everything (seriously, I’m sick of that happening in death metal. Bring back the bass!). As you listen to the songs, you may come across a nice riff or two where your ears will perk up for a minute, such as the beginning of “Sworn To Degeneracy,” but to be honest, there are seldom any sections like that to be found here. I stop short of saying the music is bland, because it’s not, but they hover on the fence so dangerously that one insignificant slip will have them crashing into the bottom-feeder-type bands. The musicians can definitely play their instruments, and the guitarists know how to solo (there are many distributed about the album, and they don’t sound too bad at all). One good thing about the solos is that they don’t overstay their welcome, but again, is this a good thing? Who knows.

Overall, I would say that this album is not a necessary addition to anybody’s collection, but if you’re a fan of this type of music, and you see the album cheaply in a store, you could do much worse.

Now first off let me just point out that the vocals have changed dramatically compared to the earlier albums. No more typical ultimate low brutal death metal grunting here but it sounds like every other standard death metal singer.

As for the guitar riffing Prostitute Disfigurement is still keeping up the melodic direction they started in Deeds Of Derangement. But one thing is missing: the old-school feeling. These riffs sound more like modern death metal than the older PD albums. Not saying it was bad though, these riffs are still quite heavy and catchy. And the solos are pretty awesome. You can notice lots of challenging sweeping and melodies in these solos. But then again it's supposed to be brutal death metal where melodies like this are pretty much always a BAD thing (I can forgive Nile & Spawn Of Possession because they fucking rule). And there's a glimpse of unoriginality too, for example the solo of Torn In Bloated Form reminds me too much of the solo in Freaking On The Mutilated (from Left In Grisly Fashion). So the only good thing about this guitar work is the new complexity. This stuff just isn't even nearly as heavy or catchy as the previous albums.

Drumming isn't really changed here. Fast blast beats and nice fills conquer here and there. Michiel still has his skill on drums but he really isn't displaying anything here you wouldn't find from Deeds Of Derangement or Left In Grisly Fashion. I also feel Michiel is laying too much on the blast beats here. There's just so much of it here that you won't be even surprised to get a blast beat in the start of a song, which is how the entire album starts off anyway. There's non-blast sections for example in the verses of Torn In Bloated Form though but still, these guys gave up too much off their old school influences. And Michiel's input here is just nothing compared to the drums on Embalmed Madness, though then again Embalmed Madness was recorded with a drum machine so you shouldn't even expect a human to beat the drum machine, lol.

And then we have the vocals. As I previously said, no more hamburger vocals here. No more extremely low and heavy brutal death metal vocals here but generic death metal singing instead. As a huge brutal death metal fan I really don't like this change Niels did to himself. Earlier his amazing vocals consisted of ROOOOOAR and GRRRRRRR but now? It's nothing more than just typical death metal vocals where you can understand every single word he says. Really not what I want from my brutal death metal. And the worse part is that he reminds me of George Fisher! Niels does same type of mid-high growls as Fisher did in Vile album when he tries to sing in between the regular growl and the high pitch scream. And needless to say, I can't stand George Fisher's voice at all which made this CD even more torturous to listen to. Though Fisher sounds much less annoying these days than on Vile but that's a completely different story. But oh well, at least these guys had a reason to write lyrics now!

Overall this album just doesn't keep you interested for a long. And to the fans of older PD Descendants Of Depravity is a flat out disappointment. This is not a real brutal death metal album. Everything here seems to imply that the band tried to move closer to standard death metal with this album. It's complex yet fairly boring and nothing special in the death metal scene. Basically just regular lameass death metal with some melodic solos and riffs thrown in.

Don't fall on the hype. Don't buy this album. If you want to hear the REAL Prostitute Disfigurement, get the 3 older albums. Embalmed Madness, Deeds Of Derangement and Left In Grisly Fashion. Stay away from this boredom packed in plastic shell.

I also need to mention that the band split up after this album. Now according to the weak output that Descendants Of Depravity had I don't really know if it's a good or a bad thing that they quit after this.

*EDIT* apparently they've reformed now with new line-up....can't say I'm expecting much from their next album though :(

What a name! And in case you’re wondering, the lyrics deal with such subjects as gore, rape, and general sexual deviance, probably making Prostitute Disfigurement one of the most popular bands to deal with sexually themed subjects in the world of metal (not counting the odd Cannibal Corpse song).

“Descendants Of Depravity” is really a showcase in modern death metal, a bit on the “brutal” side of the genre due to the tempo jumps and death metal styled breakdowns. Like many modern death metal bands, Prostitute Disfigurement like a good amount of harsh vocal harmonies with growler Niels Adams spitting out lyrics in a quick sneering fashion in his mid-ranged tone, hanging towards the slightly lower side, accented with high screams. I certainly hope people don’t take this the wrong way, as he does remind me a little of Jonny Davy from Job For A Cowboy.

On the instrumental side of things, there are certainly points where you might hear Morbid Angel over here, Zyklon over there, Death in a little spot, or Cannibal Corpse off in the distance. Even with those small bits where they show their influences on their sleeve, you can really feel the band moving a portion of themselves into a signature sound, especially with the arpeggios in the slow outro to “Storm of the Fiend”, or the intro to “Life Depraved”, a song which also has very melodic, almost progressive and Carcass-like guitar solo break.

The album is also a bit thick on running through most standard death metal beats and blasts, such as Smith blasts, regular blast beats and Cannibal blasts. This constant pulse might make them album seem like an unrelenting beatdown, but it also causes the effort to blur together. With so many fast beatings and quick stomps a breather ponder at ones perverted sexual actions would be nice.

It’s good to hear a band attempt to perfect their formula to step away from their peers, despiste some of the obvious gestures. If you’re wondering about picking this up, then you probably know what your in for already, and with a band name and lyrics like this, it’ll also provide great fun between your friends by reading the insert, as well as scaring your parents and/or girlfriend.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com

First of all, PD is one of my favourite death metal bands. Their catchiness and melodies kept me from pushing the stop button once an album was already playing. Their style combined the old school death metal feeling with less thrashy riffs and more guitar melodies, sometimes evil, sometimes catchy, sometimes both. With the previous albums the band evolute always a little more without sacrificing their less technical and more catchy and agressive oriented style. In Descendants of Depravity (DoD) the evolution is present, but goes into another direction.

There are a couple of changes in the band´s style:
1) Growling: this vocal style is more similar to other brutal death metal bands vocals. It is more varied and, sometimes, more understandable than the vocals in previous albums.
2) Guitar style and soloing: this time the guitar riffs become a little more technical, with more changes and less signature melodies in each song, which makes them more difficult to remember. The solos are way more technical than those in the previous albums. For example, the sweep picking arpegio solo of "In Sanity Concealed" demonstrates a more technical and melodic work.
3) Songs duration: the songs length is increased, making the average length around 4:30 minutes.

Drums work doesn´t change drastically.

The old PD with their catchy songs is no more. Instead we have a different PD with more complex structures and a large variety of riffs in each song (compared to the previous albums). Although the band doesn´t lose their sound entirely (you can make it out it´s PD what you hear) the change is significant, making DoD a little strange to old PD listeners, but maybe something new and original for Brutal Death listeners in general.

Recommended songs: Torn in Bloated Form, In Sanity Concealed, Carnal Rapture.

So here we are... with a band name like Prostitute Disfigurement what comes to mind? Well for me and for most that aren't really into the brutal death metal bands, you'd think that it is just another one of those typical death metal bands that have nothing but fast chugging guitars, fast drumming, and vocals you cannot comprehend. However, this is not what we have here. In fact, it is something completely beyond that.

When you begin to listen to this album you start to notice a few things rather quickly. The songs have some really catchy riffs, smooth blast beats, vocals that are brutal yet coherent, and most of all these songs are actually very well structured. On opening track "Torn in Bloated Form" a memorable riff jumps out at you that will be stuck in your head for some time, that is until you reach the second track "The Sadist King" (there is more to the title but I don't feel I should write it all) this happens to be my favourtie song on the record and just after the first verse there is one of the catchiest riffs you will hear all year. That's not all though. This album is full of memorable riffs some that jump out as well are "Life Depraved" and "Carnal Rapture" which just goes to show you that a band cannot be judged on name alone.

Once you give this album one listen you will agree this truly is far beyond brutal death metal. Definitely a worthy candidate for anyone who likes brutal death metal or who likes technical death metal. Surely one of the better death metal releases of 2008.