Shadowcast

I will admit it…what drew me to this group is what probably drew others to them as well; the line-up. This seems to be another one of those naughty little Nordic super groups that tackle musical irregularity, where Dimmu Borgir’s Silenoz rubs elbows with former Old Man's Child second-class axe-slinger Jarder (WONDERED where this dude ended up…) and a few other players within their little metallic spectrum. The thing to consider when specific musicians tackle other musical entities isn’t exactly the style itself, but how they portray it; while the former in and of itself is worthy of cheers of glee on this end (I’m all for musicians doing something that’s against their supposed norm), the latter is far more important, as any idiot with a guitar can attempt their secondary movement to their own devices. So it helps to know if they can do so more competently than their high-school level peers.

So let’s see what sort of chaos these forces can unearth…

After giving this a thorough listen, I’d sincerely hope Silenoz will be able to keep his day job. I went in knowing that this will be a different from the blackened symphonic wares of his main band, but I had no idea it would sound anything like THIS. Insidious Disease attempts to give this listener straight up, riff-heavy death/thrash metal with inklings of melody in as caustic a way as is possible. The problem with such a style is that it’s hard to get into something that tries to damn hard to portray bitter ugliness when almost no music is present. Well, I can’t say that’s entirely true; this group is able to throw in some serious noteage within the chunky guitar riffs, the sinister leads, the forever-underscored bass (the bassist always loses…), and the above-average percussion abuse, but that can’t be the solid case if what you’re shooting for is two-dimensional nastiness. There’s not much, if anything, that would warrant a second or third glance after the first initial listen on this end, especially once the bothersome, Derrick-Green-with-a-sore-throat vocal work distracts the listener from the "music" time and again, and I found myself skipping through each track halfway to three-quarters through, hoping the next song would give me a better understanding as to what Insidious Disease are all about…but over and over, I couldn’t find anything worthwhile in the long run, making this whole debacle all the more disappointing. Even through the heavy dross of the likes of "Nuclear Salvation", "Abortion Stew" and "Rituals of Bloodshed", I can sense a good amount of the limitations that exist within passionless, brutal-for-the-sake-of-being-brutal extreme metal that continues to expand and absorb otherwise talentless fools. Oh well.

In the end I didn’t care for this. There could very well be a place within the death metal realm for Insidious Disease, but as for me, I’ll take a heavy group with real musical meat on its bones. I'll leave this for those who enjoy this kind of thing and will clean my mouth out with something far more substantial.

There are super-groups and then there are super-groups, and this Norwegian project Insidious Disease may very well fall into the latter category, if we are taking into account the collective experience of its membership. This is a collaboration between vocalist Marc Grewe (of Comecon and German death cult Morgoth), bassist Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Brujeria, Lock Up, and many more), drummer Tony Laureano (who has played with basically every successful, extreme band ever in need of a drummer, Nile and Angelcorpse among them), Erkekjetter Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir and Jardar of Old Man's Child on the guitars. One could rightfully ask themselves what has brought this rogues' gallery of Parental Enemy No. 1's together in a single place. Haven't these not so gentle men already covered everything in their vast careers?

Insidious Disease is interesting because its honestly a culmination of many of its members former or current ongoing projects, a jugger-beast of massive proportions, rooted largely in pure death metal, but with an increased injection of black and thrash metal aesthetics, and perhaps a little grind as well. Vocally Grewe does not evoke the commonplace grunt or growl of the death genre, instead infusing his Morgoth frontal force with an almost hardcore edge of anger, like a street ready wakeup blend of Lars-Goran Petrov, Chris Reifert and Chuck Schuldiner (which arguably, he always sounded like). The riffs here are so many sledgehammer pistons of blunt force, though the band is not above a melodic segue where courtesy demands it. The album's sheer strength is both its strength and weakness, for while it sounds intense, it occasionally stifles itself with less interesting, burdensome riffing.

Laureano's a beast as usual, which you can hear immediately in the scorching opener "Nuclear Salvation", which pummels the face like a giant mutant's boot repeatedly, leads exploding off through the course of destruction and Grewe's pissed off attitude. A lot of the tracks are huge and fast, such as "Abortion Stew" (with a minor Pestilence influence in the octave riffing) and the storming black/death monstrosity "The Desire". Some, however, aim for a more grooving, thrashed picking sequence with some concrete breakdowns, like "Ritual of Bloodshed", "Boundless" and the bouncing "Value in Flesh". Rarely does the album expunge into some truly monolithic riff, but the production is so punishing and steadfast that you'll still find yourself straining your neck to the majority of the play length.

Add a reasonable cover of Death's classic "Leprosy", and you've got yourself a marginally successful super-group debut. If you're a fan of old Entombed, Morgoth, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, Comecon, Pestilence, Death and Malevolent Creation, with a slightly blacker heart, then this is a feasible reproduction of many of those traits which should at least aurally stimulate the angry masses. The band was formed years ago, so its obvious they took their time getting this to us, aiming for maximum impact. The one true flaw is that the material simply leaves my presence once I have pressed 'stop', and there is not even one song here I feel the instant urge to gaze back upon. But when pincered in its head fisting embrace, as on the blasting epitaph of "Conceived Through Hate", you can't help but feel ready for a fight.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Like Bloodbath and Lock Up, Insidious Disease is another all-star side project. The band features Silenoz (Dimmu Borgir), Jardar (Old Man's Child), Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Tony Laureano (Nile, Angelcorpse, etc.) and Marc Grewe (ex-Morgoth). They play a simple and straight-forward style of death metal that would have been right at home on Roadrunner or Century Media during the late eighties/early nineties. Shadowcast is the debut release from this star-studded group.

The most exciting aspect of this album is Marc Grewe's return to the world of death metal vocals. The former Morgoth front man has not lost a bit of his early death metal power and skill. For those who are unfamiliar, his voice is like a blend of Martin Van Drunen, John Tardy, and L-G Petrov. His growls are of the mid-range variety, and the lyrics are perfectly understandable. His vocals convey a deep sense of emotion, especially on "Value in Flesh" where he sounds like someone who is about to go over the edge and give way to insanity. Like Grewe's vocals, Tony Laureano's drums are another one of the album's greatest strengths. Anyone who is familiar with Laureano's work in countless other bands knows the pounding attack this drum monster is capable of unleashing. His drumming is lively and keeps the songs interesting, while giving them a sense of driving power. He often uses intense double bass drumming and contributes suffocating tom rolls in "Nuclear Salvation" and the bonus track, "Insomaniac."

Guitarists Silenoz and Jardar play down-tuned simple riffs that are catchy and powerful when they succeed, but when they don't, they can actually be a little too plain and dull. One success, the deliciously titled "Abortion Stew," features a heavy-as-fuck groove that absolutely crushes. "Rituals of Bloodshed," which features the guest vocals and co-writing skills of Necrophagia's Killjoy, also utilizes a catchy groove in its chorus. However, the songs don't just use slow / mid-paced grooves. There are also faster, thrashy parts that add variety to Shadowcast. The guitar leads are usually drenched in watery chorus effects or reverb and add color more than anything. These simple lead fills and melodies create an eerie atmosphere on songs like "Value in Flesh." There are no truly shredding solos on Shadowcast, although "Abortion Stew" and "The Desire" both feature brief moments of fretboard flash. If you are looking for technicality and guitar acrobatics, you've come to the wrong place. Shane Embury's bass functions like an extension of the guitars and adds a thick bottom end to their sound. The bass rarely stands out on its own and becomes one with the guitars to create a thick wall of heaviness.

Shadowcast features songs with traditional structures and catchy choruses. Hell, even the lyrics are easily deciphered, and each chorus usually features the title of the song. That, along with the excellent production and the skills of each of the players involved, makes Shadowcast an instantly likeable album. However, as enjoyable as this album is, it's never terribly impressive except for Grewe's and Laureano's performances. That is my only real complaint about Shadowcast. It is a consistently good album from start to finish that grows on me more with each listen, yet it is never so amazing that it totally blows me away. Considering the players involved, I expected to like this a little more than I do. Having said that, I still plan to return to this album anytime I am in the mood for simple, memorable death metal. Fans of more straight-forward death metal like Grave and Bloodbath should check this out. Curious fans of the individual members of Insidious Disease should also definitely give this a listen, especially fans of early Morgoth. It's a treat to hear Grewe back in action. I hope this isn't just a one-off release, and we are able to hear more from Insidious Disease soon. Hopefully with another release Insidious Disease will add a little more flair without abandoning their straight-ahead formula.

Note: The limited edition of Shadowcast also includes a cover of Death's "Leprosy" as a bonus track, which is not included with my copy.

Originally written for http://www.metalpsalter.com