Razón de la muerte

Decision D descends from the city of Utrecht and since its career started had aimed to play in the style of technical thrash metal. Although 85% of thrash metal scene in the Netherlands had eventually evolved into death metal before getting signed, leaving only a handful of bands that were devoted to thrash 'til the last moment, this release stays thrashy. Even if Decision D wasn't completely unaffected by these new tendencies, there are way more thrash elements on the record. The debut album with the title written suddenly in Spanish - "Razon de la Muerte" ("Cause of Death" had been already taken, what a pity!) - was released in 1992 on Crypta Records. No matter how tempting and unavoidable, we shall yet skip the unbelievable backstory of the band and at least try to evaluate the songs' content without any moral bias.

The first thing that catches my ear is a certain lack of depth in the sound of guitars, for which the duo of Daniel Bootsma and Stijn Bollinger is responsible. To me it sounds a bit pale, not fully fulfilling the band's ambitions. The same thing with the sound of drums (drummer - Peter Zaal) - it seems somehow cramped, pushed too deep into the mix. On the other hand, Ronald-Jan Kleisen's bass is sounding fine, louder accents sound good and they are placed properly, and you can hear it well in the mix, but it's probably just because of generally weaker guitars. The producing and mixing work is not flawless; for example, in the first track one can feel slight syncopation. Vocal parts of Curaçao native Edwin Ogenio seem like bunch of random takes on everything he felt he had to imitate - in some places there is growling ("World's Deception"), in some places there is Petrozza-style grumbling ("Ecclesia Anorexia"), there's also this voice similar to muffled hard accent vocals popular among Soviet thrash bands ("Holy Supper"), but in most of the album he sings the lyrics in a semi-spoken manner, reminiscent of Phil Rind of Sacred Reich. The most interesting songs for me are "Babylon's Kingdom" and "Ecclesia Anorexia". I can't help but admit that despite all flaws and riffs that are not satisfactory, the album is catchy, some riffs are getting stored in your head even after the first listen, which is a rare feat even for the best of the bands. However, there is no expected stunning technical structure neither in riffs, nor in solos, nor in rhythmics, there's just this moderately complicated and totally not deviant structure of songs and simple guitar solos.

The aspect that makes this band a standalone among other Dutch and foreign adversaries is their sincerely Christian lyrics. Yes, you heard me right - this is a Christian band consisting of faithful Christians. In the booklets of all albums the first thanks were always given to Jesus Christ and the Bible. Even more harsh and deathy (and even more unsuccessful) album "Moratoria" is full of purely Christian lyrics. And the secret behind its almost challenging Christianity? The band existed on the basis of the Christian sect "God's Pleasure" which was founded by yet another "God's chosen prophet" - beforementioned vocalist Ogenio, and which united mostly teenagers and youngsters who were fond of rock 'n' roll and just fond enough of Christianity. The claimed goal of its mission was helping young people to cope with sinful urges and struggles and preach the message of God through metal. They also organized a music shop and a small rehearsal hall for small bands to play and learn. Do not be flattered by this facade - this organization actually functioned as a religious cult, and Decision D served, and quite possibly served primarily, as a tool to promote it to the young masses. After a series of huge scandals, including cases of embezzlement and CP possession by its members, the investigation has been started in 1995, and Decision D ceased to exist along with the cult in 1996. Edwin became a wanted man and fled to USA, and then to Denmark, where he repeatedly tried to continue his questionable activities.

So, in the end we have this just above mediocre thrash metal album. However, in comparison with the works from the bands like Dead Head, Creepmime and Thanatos, it seems to be too far behind. Although, its catchiness and not-so-impressive but still decent playing skills can make up for its flaws. But remember - this album is something the band could claim as God's message, assuming they were all led by the Lord. What kind of indulgence can there be when there's such powerful and wise "executive producer"? Here it goes - 57/100 - and may God forgive me for this rating if it's my delusion and ignorance that I didn't like it so much.

Originally written for https://www.darkside.ru/album/36314/

The arrow of time is merciless. On the surface, there are few differences between a (hypothetical) thrash record released in 1986 and one that was released in 1992. The difference may not be audible, but contextual. The earlier record will be innovative, blending and building on music of previous eras. The later record will use a template, creating songs from tried and trusted 'thrash' elements. Consider the difference between live footage of a historic event, and actors playing in a film of the event. Context matters. Timing is everything.

There are exemptions. An official ‘release date’ is less important for bands that have already recorded and distributed their material unofficially ("Horrified" by Repulsion being a prime example). Bands that are isolated from scene hot-spots might also get a pass. History shows how bands from ‘lesser’ scenes can create innovative music after the genre has peaked elsewhere (Finnish death metal bands were still making great music a year after the bubble had burst in Stockholm). Such exceptions do not apply to records like "Razón de la Muerte", which was released in 1992 but sounds like it comes from 1987/88. The arc of extreme metal creativity in 1992 ran through albums like "The Red in the Sky is Ours" and "A Blaze in the Northern Sky". Decision D's brand of semi-technical thrash metal was a dead end.

Predictably, "Razón de la Muerte" reeks of a band being behind the curve. Decision D attempts the kind of extreme thrash that began six years earlier with "Reign in Blood", that was tightened up on "Illusions/Chemical Exposure" (1988) and perfected with "Beneath the Remains" (1989). The baton was then taken by bonafide death metal bands, who fortified this approach with records like "Syzygial Miscreancy" (1990) and "Dreaming with the Dead" (1991). Decision D does not belong in this arc. By playing it safe and sticking to thrash convention, they fail to tap into primal urges that are vital in metal. These guys were capable musicians who wrote decent riffs, but everything on here was old before it was written.

The song-writing is variable. There are a couple of good songs ("Ecclesia Anorexia" sounds like a heavier version of early Overkill). "World's Deception" is the highlight. It sounds darker and deathlier, with angular riffs and harsh vocals (reminding me of Ripping Corpse). Other songs are over-cooked and don't warrant their six or seven minute length (e.g., "Diabolic Shadow"). The worst moment is the ponderous "Hymn of the Refuge”, which is album filler if ever there was. The awful production doesn't help matters. Being on the Crypta Records roster, the band accessed the 'house' studio (Delta, in Germany). The album has an irritating sheen that is typical of albums from this studio. It sounds unbalanced and messy, lacking the thrash metal urgency of productions from the 1980s.

The fact that Decision D were a Christian band will be of interest to some. This record was surely influenced by Believer and Seventh Angel, and fans of those bands will want to check this out. It may also be of interest to people who like obscure technical thrash metal, but only after they have feasted on the likes of Sindrome and Watchtower. Those, like me, who appreciate the death/thrash vibe of "World's Deception" would be well served with Chemical Breath’s “Fatal Exposure” from the same year (also from the Crypta/Delta axis). Anyone else can ignore "Razón de la Muerte", just as they have done until now.