Human Hunting Season

There's nothing radically unconventional about this release, but for some reason the combination of Colombian and US styles of brutal death comes off as unusually novel to me. Animals Killing People is great at merging chaotic, almost Purulent-style brutal death with a more rhythmic and coherent US take on the genre, making for a release that is pretty well paced and knows when to switch from pure blasting frenzy to groove and back again. It comes off as more measured and coherent than most Colombian brutal death but less restrained than the US style, which is really a best of both worlds scenario.

This all makes sense since this band is comprised of both US and Colombian-born members; clearly the two styles have been synthesized very well. A lot of offhand, almost improvised technicality is used, but without the sort of maniacal, questionable technical skill of many Colombian bands. The playing here is about perfect, with the drums in particular being of note, being both very musical and extremely driving. The riffs are the heart of this though, with a lot of sort of Cannibal Corpse style groove, with sinister, stalking chord structures providing a nice malevolence to the proceedings. More striking than that is how good the tremolo riffs are; the main riff in the title track which emerges just before the halfway point is particularly notable. The rest of the EP's riffs proceed in a similar manner; they're devilishly melodic when not grinding in a wholly dissonant fashion. In addition, the vocal performance is delightfully sick and slurring ala Terminally Your Aborted Ghost; absolutely no non-brutal death fan will like it, but it's just peachy to me.

This is assuredly a release specifically designed with brutal death fans in mind, but it's hard for me to imagine a lover of the genre being disappointed by this release. If you like your brutal death fast, technical, and riffy, there's really no way to go wrong with this. Hell, I'd even recommend it to those who like the aesthetic of the genre but not the way it's typically executed; the sheer memorability of tracks like 'Wrong Lunch' makes this deserve investigation. Good shit here; I recommend it greatly.

"Stop Killing Animals: Kill People" is the motto of New York brutal death band Animals Killing People. Both members of the band are vegans and activists for animal rights. This is evidenced by their MySpace; which is cluttered with links to PETA videos and images of tortured animals, and this EP.

The opening track, "Coat of Human Skin", begins with a sample I can't quite decipher (I've been told it's someone being eaten by rats) and launches into the music typical of the album: blast beats over distorted guitar and bass. In fact, just about every song on here begins with a sample and launches into the same sound (a pleasing exception is "Human Hunting Season", in which the pounding drums and guitar form a solid, albeit brief slam) The gurgled vocals come in after riffs are established, and the songs all pound on for 2 or 3 minutes.

The lyrics and themes are a real standout for gore-based bands as well. The popular contemporary of this band is clearly Cattle Decapitation, but Animals Killing People are more focused and direct in their message. Where Cattle Decapitation focuses on a more misanthropistic vibe with occasional animal themes, Animals Killing People focuses directly on the cruelty of humans towards animals, and the animals revenge. Like the band name suggests, the songs are all (with the exception of the Bolt Thrower cover) about animals killing people in various ways. Most of the major methods of human cruelty to animals are covered: fur for coats, hunting, consumption and... bullfighting? Well, it's a little less general, but still relevant. Most gore-based bands these days are just trying to write about more painful methods of castration or tying together nonsensical medical textbook terms, where Animals Killing People is actually making a message and setting themselves apart. At the very least, this is commendable.

It's not to say that this is a bad album, but the tracks tend to be consistent to a fault. Each song is an impressive salad of riffs, but all the "sudden" transitions are predictable, and the riffs themselves don't exactly blaze forward into new territory (not that brutal death anything has been known for being the most trailblazing metal subgenre). The thin sound of the cheap distortion and trash can-like tone of the drum kit can grow tiresome to some listeners as well. However, if you're just looking for something good and fast, and you're into the gore sound, the album is worthwhile.

Well, here we have to kick off, a strange soundclip of what sounds like someone being eaten to death.. by RATS. Yes, that's really quite disturbing. But, once the music comes in, we get typical brutal death metal, with a gurgly growl noise for the vocals. Also, the typical ride/double bass rape of the drums. The guitars are almost non-existant, as they are buried by the annoying drum sounds and the vocals.

The vocalist does have some skill, as just after halfway through the first song, his gurgles go really fucking high. Higher than most bands I've seen that have cool gurgles (Stabwound), but this still doesn't stop the music from being very typical, and somewhat boring.

On the second track, we have another soundclip, but this time involving a talking rat. Great. And, yes, again we get more typical gurgling and drum raping. And this continues throughout the album.

Now, at the end we have a Bolt Thrower cover, which starts off with a great riff, but the awfully annoying drumming sounds are still there. On this song, the vocals don't sound as brutal as they did before, and now we can actually hear the guitar riffs, as they don't just stick to simple, distorted to fuck power chords. Of course, this is a pretty good cover song, done in their own style. It's a shame that their own style isn't all that good to begin with.

This definately doesn't cover any new ground, or break any new boundaries, but what it does do is provide us with information that the brutal death metal bands are still willing to produce brutal music. I just wish they'd lose the annoying drum sounds.