Prophecies Foretold

In their lone LP of the 90s, New York death metal outfit Dehumanized delivers a jumble of mixed feelings over an action packed 35 minutes. The first thing you might notice when listening is the somewhat odd tone, no doubt a result of the production process. The album at times sounds a little muffled, but the guitars in particular really seem to sound as if you were listening to someone play in the other room. The production as a whole feels somewhat grainy and dirty, though it seems to work in the band's favor as it helps set the mood for the album pretty well.

The guitars can feel like a mixed bag, at times feeling very monotonous and other times feeling brilliantly layered and vile. The best example of this mixture comes in the third track, "Fade into Obscurity", which seems to alternate between being the best and being the worst track on the album. The track begins with this very boring monotonous gallop, which makes the song feel boring until about a minute in when the guitar starts to harmonize with the bass over this double kick and the song begins to sound rather bad ass. This dynamic between boredom and being kick-ass is rather consistent through the album, this track especially. Dehumanized seems to have this seamless knack for alternating between those one note gallop style riffs, and these energetic riffs that ascend the fret-board like on the title track, "Prophecies Foretold". Another highlight for the guitars would come on "Doomed to Die", using these slow staccato chug riffs and harmonics for an absolutely beastly sound.

Moving on to the drums, I think while the kit isn't all too noteworthy in how it sounds, I do have a little issue in that while the kick feels so tight and perfect, the snare feels a little loose, which while admittedly minor, makes the kit feel a little uneven. The drum work itself wasn't extremely memorable, though like the guitars I think it really hit its peak on "Doomed to Die", probably the best track on the album. George Torres is capable of some very fast drumming, and doesn't fail to entertain on this album. He is meticulous, absolutely cold and calculating on this release and as one of the highlights for sure. In fact, I think the drums seem to carry the guitars at time. Through varied uses of traditional blast beats, double kicks, and rolls, Torres picks up and carries the intense energy far better than the guitars, and at times seems to mask some of their imperfections. This is probably why "Doomed to Die" is so good, seeing as the drums don't really have anything to make up for on the track and so both the guitars and drums can flourish all while being supported by Jerry Barco.

This leads right into the vocal performance on this album, which simply put is incredibly nasty. Barco has no low point on this album, delivering consistently gravel filled belches from start to finish. His growls are incredibly low, maybe not quite Will Rahmer level, but certainly reminiscent of Broken Hope's Joe Ptacek. The only issue arising from the vocal end is that at times, especially on the title track, the mixing leaves Barco in the shadows a little bit, being somewhat drowned out by the guitars and the kit. Mixing served as one of my biggest issues with the album as a whole, from the distantly muffled tone to the long lost bass.

Yes, unsurprisingly the bass seemed to get the short end of the stick on this album, really only rearing its head for a moment when harmonizing in "Fade into Obscurity", and appearing again a couple times on the next track, "Solitary Demise", namely about a minute in as the tempo changes to this slower slide riff and the bass is there to compliment it. It's also at the very least audible in the midsection of "Infinite Despair" as the track kicks into the next gear prior to its solo, though it does nothing special as opposed to the two tracks mentioned prior. Now I understand that this isn't an Iron Maiden album, and the bass does at the very least have a minimal part on the record, but I surely would've liked to see it utilized more, again like on the track "Doomed to Die", where though it does just mirror the guitar, it is far more noticeable and really fills out the overall sound. Overall, while the bass isn't at all absent, especially after the first couple tracks, I never felt that it got any particular spotlight, like part of what I love about Cryptopsy's "None So Vile".

One of the best things I can say about this album is that it does a really good job of avoiding annoying cliches. For example, the blast beats don't feel overused, and instead are an actually important and integral part to the sections they're used on. Additionally, while some death metal bands love to use harmonics every measure, Dehumanized avoids this making it feel all the more special when it does show up like on "Doomed to Die" and "Terminal Punishment". Another thing that makes this album special is that it really does grow on you more as you listen to it again. Through my first listen I enjoyed it, but as I listened again I began to naturally notice more and more about the little things, and the whole record became more thoroughly enjoyable.

The midsection of the album, from "Fade into Obscurity" to "Terminal Punishment", is very special in and of itself, and repeatedly shows Dehumanized at their peak, leaving you enthralled and hungry for more. Even the worst tracks on the album are at the very least ok, and I can see my opinion, even on those songs, progressively changing into an increasingly positive light. So yes, the album isn't perfect, but it is certainly exciting, charming, and full of some special performances, namely of the vocal variety. This album is surely worth more than one listen, and I definitely see myself returning to it again in the future.

Before I go too far, I'll mention this is some of the very first death metal I heard. I have enjoyed this album since 2005 and it has not moved too far away from my top 10 list.

The vocals on this album are supreme. Low and brutal, but not something you would find in a Devourment recording. They flow nicely with the riffs. They do what they're supposed to do, but not much more. You aren't getting a lot of variation. Most of what you'll hear is low and brutal, with the occasional high pitched grindcore vocals. That isn't too much of an issue for me, because as long as the musicianship is tight, I could care less about how amazing and cutting edge the vocals are. As long as they're brutal and they fit.

The guitar work is what you'll find in death metal. They slam, they are fast, sometimes technical. But they are not bad riffs by any means. They did more than just "slam slam slam slam slam" here, and oh do I get tired of "slam slam slam slam slam and slam". There are some really catchy riffs in here, but the guitar work certainly isn't the constant epic riffing you'll hear in Abysmal Torment.

The drums are very good. I would never get bored with that drummer. Really fast, precise blasts with some brutal slams that jack you in the jaw with a dick. The dude probably smokes a half ounce of crystal meth before he plays. The drums accompany the guitars very well throughout the entire album.

The beautiful thing about this is, here is the basic formula for good death metal. They took all the basics and added their N'Yawk blend of herbs and spices to make a really good, really tight album. It's surely a shame they didn't last long. They would have made a name with Suffocation, Immolation, and all the other N'Yawkuh death metal bands. As I listen to this cd, I get the feeling their next album would have been really good. Had it been released.

Technical drumming, deep sick vocals and extremely catchy riffs make Dehumanized what they are (more like, what they used to be). Each track on this album is extremely decipherable and each has a unique sound of its own. The drummer (present Skinless) outdone himself with plenty of innovative beats, but he also stuck in a lot of mind grinding double bass and sick blast beats. They are all extremely tight as a band and they all cooperate very efficiently.

The CD starts off with a mind wrenching song called “Fade Into Obscurity” which is later followed by an intro for the title track, which in my opinion is the best song.Production is brutally done. Cover art is sick and the booklet is mastered exceptionally well. When it comes to sound quality some tracks have different recordings to others since they were recorded in different studios. This is a definite CD one should crank up the volume with.