Process of Decay

Anyone who is familiar with these stalwarts of the UK Death Metal scene would probably have thought they knew exactly what to expect this album: a good honest slab of straight forward, no bullshit death metal, uncomplex, brutal, same production values as they have pretty much ALWAYS had... the lot.

Well, you might be in for a surprise. When The Heart Stops Beating opens with a salvo of double bass drumming before the song properly kicks in, revealing the album's first surprise: the drums are triggered. Although I am not overtly against triggered drums, they do strip the organic and "raw" element their previous albums had. But before I had time to generate any emotion as to how I felt about this, the song fully kicks in, revealing a second surprise; the guitar production is HUGE, with a much fuller and clearer sound than before.

You might, then, be forgiven for thinking that you weren't listening to Desecration upon first listen. Thankfully though, for all the evolution the production has gone through, the song writing has stayed exactly as it always was; honest, no frills brutal DEATH. Desecration are a band that have never been concerned with the intricate and progressive side of the genre, and the progression of this album reflectss that; aggressive and relentless from start to finish, with some great little catchy hooks scattered liberally throughout the recording for good measure.

The highlight of the album for me has to be Black Putrefaction, featuring Morbid Mark from Amputated, not only for his ridiculously low vocals but for the tracks groovy overtones coupled with... you guessed it... blasting brutality.

Basically, if you buy Nile or Origin for the musicianship, or Psycroptic or Decrepit Birth for the technicality, then the chances are you will be pretty unimpressed with this. But for those that like their death metal blunt and catchy, this album should probably be on your picking list.

This is the first album from a Welsh band that I’ve had the pleasure to review, and what a pleasure it is. It’s the American version I have to dissect, which was released in 2007. But Process of decay was originally released by Copro Records in 2005, so it’s a fairly old album (at least review-wise). The only difference in between versions is the artwork, which looks way cooler for the original ’05 release.

There’s no doubt about it that Desecration offers some gored-up brutal death metal, but there’s a lot more going on than your average standard modern brutal death metal act. They take that brutal gory death metal ‘a la Lividity and the likes, and lace it with some slamming, neck-snapping breakdowns. But shining through is some seriously old school influences, getting me thinking of Unleashed, and for some more melodic (though not really melodic, if you catch my drift) guitar leads I could swear I hear some Deicide. The opening track When the heart stops beating… is such a killer of a song, as is the rest of the album. There are no fillers here, but I especially like said tune ‘cause of the oh-so-heavy, headbanger-friendly slower parts. Although it never really gets to the point where it’s slow since the kick-drum keeps hammering. The vocals vary from gory growls, to screams, to growls, to… Some versatility going on in that department as well.

It’s a monster of an album that seems to have it all. Desecration manage to offer some melody without losing the brutality. And you could just as well headbang to death as have a spastic fit, using Process of decay as a soundtrack. The sound is thick and heavy enough, without losing the rough edge. Wicked.

Originally written for www.mylastchapter.net