Cadaverous Presence

Cardiac Arrest is another of those hard working Midwestern acts which never seems to quite catch a break or generate a ton of buzz despite being capable at its craft. While they've never really put out anything that blew me away, records like Haven for the Insane and Vortex of Violence have been serviceable, competent and entertaining old school death metal platters that stand out to me mostly because they pursue a style that is simply not heard too often in the realm of brutastic boor-wankers, Dismember addicts, cavern core drillers and Floridian acolytes. Instead, they've got a sound strikingly reminiscent of English death and grind circa early Carcass and Bolt Thrower, perhaps with a little Repulsion in there and a whole lot of horror influence rather than songs about medical processes or Warhammer.

When I say 'reminiscent', I don't mean that they completely ape those bands' tones, but rather feel like a parallel, North American development to them, with some similarities in riff construction, chord choices, and pacing. For example, the instrumental intro, "The Inevitable" sounds a hell of a lot like something you'd hear Karl Willetts growling over, a slow and churning piece with groovier drums that almost can't support the fuzzed out rhythm guitar tone. The title track definitely has a couple of roiling riffs, as in the bridge breakdown, which would have fit right in on Symphonies of Sickness, though they also break out into a lot less distinct grinding and blasting, faster patterns that are in the Morbid Angel camp, and then some leads whipping their tendrils about that feel a bit aimless but not out of place. You can hear traces of a few other influences in here, like old Pestilence or maybe even the first Entombed record, but that constant grinding to grooving ratio evokes a whole lot of the Earache camp circa the late 80s or early 90s, which is surely a nostalgia trigger.

As for production standards, this is naturally a little weaker than the records to come after it, with the drums a little weak in the mix to support that excessively fuzzy guitar tone. Combined with the distortion levels on the bass, this is where part of the Repulsion comparison comes in, and you could make an argument that Cadaverous Presence is a more dynamic alternative to Horrified, those dynamics taking the form of the riffs and progressions which sound like the other bands I've brought up. This is ugly, hostile and ultimately punishing, with just barely enough polish to place it beyond the live or rehearsal category of recording. But, at the same time, that actually lends it some character and forces the listener into a more terrifying, grotesque dimension in which they've got to earn their appreciation a little more. The range of riffs, which aren't terribly catchy on an individual basis, is another strong point, since it's interesting and varied enough to prevent this from being some slog saved only by its disgusting tones.

Alas, that's not to say I think this is an album as good as those to follow it. The gutturals are rather monotonous and sound more like your average brutal death frontman, both in tone and the patterns of syllables being belched out. Half the riffs are exciting, the others are entirely forgettable, while the balance of the guitars and drums doesn't exactly allow them to properly complement one another. Apart from the sheer visceral nature of the music, the titles and artwork, there is very little here that rises above the horror level of your average slasher. That said, its truly fuzzy and abusive nature will certainly appeal to some that miss when death and grind bands reveled in raw production, and there are least the inklings and intentions of cool songwriting ideas buried across its twisted, fleshy canvas.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

What an improvement! After listening to their first album rife with problems, this album is a breath of fresh air. There is something even quite unique about it. First of all, although the guitar sound on the first album was quite meaty, it was not suited for this bands style. "Cadaverous Presence" has a much more old school style production, almost Sunlight Studios-ish. The drums production is also so much more appropriate for their style. "Morgue Mutilations" was completely killed by the too loud, too triggered sounding drums. The bass kicks now sound more organic and the drummer seems to be more in tune with the rest of the band.

The songwriting has gotten FAR better on this album as well. On the first album, while clenching my teeth I could hear the band's obvious hardcore influences, but they were awkward like the whole album itself. Now, their hardcore, doom and other influences are fully integrated into their Cannibal Corpse style death metal, beating anything that band has released in 15 years for originality. Although the vocals were also quite above average on the first album, this is where they really shine - completely audible and fear-inducing.

There are many highlights on this album. At their best, this band exudes an oozy doomy atmosphere with bursts of violent aggression - like an abandoned decrepit haunted city with zombies ready to eat your heart waiting around every corner. The fear is always present, and then proves itself true. Songs like What Lurks Therein, In His Name They Spill Blood, and The Process of Self-Mutilation are examples of this.

All in all, this is a very good album that any death metal fan really needs to pick up! The album is truly original, well executed and memorable. I would certainly call this album classic and a superb mix of old school and new school death metal. I hope Cardiac Arrest can move forward with their next album and drop some of the tiny problems in this album.

This band belts out some serious old school death metal in the vein of Cannibal Corpse. The songs are filled with all different time signatures and some even hyper blasts! The leads feature mostly sweeps, arpeggios, etc. Vocal wise it's Adam Scott (lead guitar/lead vocals) belting out some deep throat. Tom (rhythm guitar/vocals), Dave (bass/vocals) and Jim (drums/vocals) also contribute some high end screams for variety.

What I like about this album is that there is no compromise musically speaking. These guys are passionate about what they do produce which is this old school sound, gruesome lyrics, and awesome production. The music just flows with all sorts of riffs... I think that these guys will be around for a while belting out non-compromising works. I haven't heard their debut yet but I'm sure it's in the same vein of this release.

Guitars are way tuned down I think to B-flat to produce the lowest form of "death rot" as they call it type of music. The whole album is filled with tons of awesome sounds. One riff in particular sounds a bit like Slayer's
'Mandatory Suicide' at least the intro part of that song. It's what it reminds me of at least.

None of the lyrics are in this insert but you can read a few on their main web site. They sing mostly about gore, horror, etc. Amazing that this band has been around since 1997! Now with an awesome lineup they've produced some work which is definitely worth checking out.

After several listens to this album, I would say that Cardiac Arrest needs more attention from those into the Old School style of death metal. The reason is because a lot of bands over the years change their style and go to crap musically. Cardiac Arrest doesn't seem like a band that will follow this path. They're going to be around a lot longer than most of these style of bands.

Songs that are really worth checking out are 'In His Name They Spill Blood' and the title track. Honestly, I thought the whole album was killer. I'm just more into the guitar's sound than anything. Adam seriously shreds on
pretty much all tracks. I like the variety in the vocals too. It isn't just low end bellowing like old Cannibal Corpse via Chris Barnes era.