Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Repulsive Dissection > Cut Open the Aberration > Reviews
Repulsive Dissection - Cut Open the Aberration

Planting a bonesaw against your backside - 75%

autothrall, November 24th, 2009

Normally I don't throw in for the brand of gore dowsed guttural secretions that a band like Repulsive Dissection vomits all across the tape, but this Ukrainian-based band (with an international lineup) wins a few points for having a rare, delightful mischief about them that makes you want to crack up even while the band is stomping on your intestines with their bewildering (if messy) musicianship. Cut Open the Aberration is the band's first full-length, following up on the Murder-Suicide EP from last year. You know what you're in for as soon as you see the malformed unfortunate on the cover: no holds barred, brutal death metal.

But Repulsive Dissection go one better. The vocals of Englishman Tom Bradfield (Infected Disarray, Beef Conspiracy) are just hilarious, given an added dose of reverb, like a chorus of bullfrogs providing play-by-play commentary on the practices of an unliscened surgery ward. If they remind you of Demilich, it's probably not unintentional. There are also Salacious Crumb counterpoint vox. The drums of Fredrik Widigs (Soils of Fate, Kraanium) are beyond human capability, the double bass is so fast you feel like it's more than one player overlapped. The riffs are circus-like, so busy and fast that they often crash and burn into one another, giving a dilapidated feeling to the band's rhythms. The bass guitar is simply maddening due to its profane, frenzied pace. The album is almost comical, but it still strolls on up to you and plants a bonesaw against your backside.

Some of the standout tracks to mine ears were the opener "Decimate", the savage thrust of "Unjust Calumniation", the spasmic bludgeoning of "Distorted Existence", and the grindslaughter of "Necessary Bloodshield". "Septicemia" (with its unexpected acoustic break) and "Swarmpit" are also...lovely...and the rest will at least have your head spinning in confusion at the band's mocking, frolicking pace. The band has a great sense for sample placement, and all of those used on this album are funny and clever without being too obvious, like in many awful goregrind bands.

Cut Open the Aberration sounds as good as it can, you really won't have time to notice any inconsistencies as you'll be busy trying to stopwatch the drums or decipher the bands unending stream of battering, punctual guitar rhythms. Bullfrogs are the icing on the cake. I was highly entertained by this debut; I won't go as far as to say it's original or even 'great', but a fun 40 minutes of blasting, darkly comic brutality.

Highlights: Decimate, Unjust Calumination, Distorted Existence, Necessary Bloodshield

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com