Decade of Deepwoods Debauchery

Amidst the plethora of brutal death bands out there, it is extremely difficult sort through the mountains of crappy bands to find the few that are actually worth listening to. One of these recent finds for me is this album from Viral Load. This is the first I’ve heard of this band so I’m not familiar with the band’s previous releases. Apparently, this is a rerecorded “greatest hits” celebrating ten years of existence.

First off I’d like to say that this certainly brutal death metal staying true to what is expected from said sub-genre. However, one of the first things I noticed is that Viral Load provides many variations in riffs and songwriting that manage to hold the listeners attention throughout the entire release. This album certainly excels at finding a decent balance of technicality without the wankery, speed, and heavy as fuck slower sections.

The production of this album is quite excellent with each instrument clearly audible allowing the musicianship to be properly displayed. The drums are not the best in metal but they are certainly a high point within the brutal death genre. Forrest Stedt is certainly competent behind the kit providing hyper fast and technical blast beats and fills. I cannot really comment to much on the bass because it doesn’t really rear its head and I think that would be one of my main complaints.

Another stand out is Shawn Whitaker’s vocals. The majority the time he reminds me of a Pierced from Within era Frank Mullen, but he also adds the expected guttural belches and gurgles prominent in brutal death. Plus, every now and again he uses a black metal style high pitched shriek.

Finally on to the guitars and riff portion of my review. This is by far the reason I enjoyed this album so much. Shawn Whitaker is obviously a skilled shredder but he never gets too obnoxious with wankery, thereby forsaking the flow of his songs. This album contains many diverse riffs that are just enjoyable to hear and will have you banging your head until your head snaps off and lands in your lap. My only slight complain with the guitars is there are no solos. I’m a sucker for a good solo and I think Viral Load will stand out even more from the rest of the genre if a few were implemented.

Bottom line: Not the best death metal has to offer but certainly leagues above the majority of the crap infesting the scene. Give it a listen if you are into brutal death and even a metal fan in general.

Highlights: It has risen and Corkscrewed Colon!!