Munching the Rotten

This band have changed their name quite a few times through the years, starting as Rottus in Extremis in the late-90’s, then shortening it to just Rottus at the dawn of the new millennium, modifying it to Bloodcum for about four years, and finally settling down for the most “intelligent” option, Arsebreed. The first three incarnations left a string of demos behind, but failed to produce an official release which became a fact under the last moniker. It’s also worth of note that the band members are one of the biggest authorities on the death metal scene in the Netherlands being in charge of other luminaries like Pyaemia and Disavowed (earlier Nocturnal Silence).

The guys have apparently been blessed with the Midas Touch since whatever they lay their hands on reeks of intricacy and technicality; and not only but they have created some of the finest technical death metal in Europe for the past 10 or so years. The approach they have selected for the Arsebreed only effort so far is also on the fast-paced, brutal side akin to the Pyaemia and the Disavowed repertoire, but this is not exactly the concise, concrete riff-dense delivery of those two as the focus is more on more frequently inserted technical twisted passages thus breaking the stride of the urgent blast-beating delivery. As a result the album reviewed here doesn’t come as one painful fist in the face, but brings more variety and more melody to the brutal technical death metal panorama.

The opening “Fistfit Stretched Third Eye” is already a most eventful riff-fist... sorry, fest with time and tempo changes galore the music seamlessly flowing from a super-technical section to a stomping groovy one, this exercise repeated several times throughout. Almost every track has an abrupt, very intricate beginning, no intros, no ambient warnings, no crap like that the guys stirring a whirlwind of stylish elaborate riffage that comes close at times to the chaotic genius of Crimson Massacre’s “The Luster of Pandemonium” (check out “Vaginal Butchery”, or the surreal madness titled “Bloody Posttraumatic Ejaculation”). The guitar acrobatics reach towards the stars with spiral-like crescendos reminiscent of Necrophagist (the title-track, “Ripping Chainsaw Orgasm”) where those who don’t pay much attention would easily lose the plot with the incessant riff downpour the latter never overwhelmingly blasting due to the constant shift of pace.

“Stabbed in the Arse” will stab, or rather sting you not only in the arse, but everywhere with its superb sophisticated technical guitars which also know a few slow breaks of the stomping variety the latter also featured prominently on “Rectal Vomit” which actually spends most of the time on the hesitant up-tempo side excluding the hyper-active ending. “Anal Cum” is a display of intelligent brutality in full contrast to its title, a relentless speedy shredder which flows into “Vomit Heaps of Flesh”, another virtuous riff salad that leaves the more complex arrangements for “Chopped in Excrements” which borders on the progressive with the more carefully plotted structure, the excellent screamy leads, and the sudden technical sweeps ala Theory in Practice.

Even in such a strong company as the one provided in their homeland (I Chaos, Constant Paranoia, Fondlecorpse, Severe Torture, Infinited Hate (later Weapons to Hunt), Cromm Cruac, Prostitute Disfigurement, etc.) this band will easily stick out. It’s hard to recall another recording of such intense technical precision to have come out of Holland; its complex exuberance may have served as a wake-up call for Patrick Mameli since not long after he put Pestilence back on the map; the veteran(s) by all means have come across a very strong competition in their own backyard, all of a sudden.

Again, the Necrophagist fans will make the most sense of this recording although this is far from a blind emulation of the Germans’ guitar acrobatics; the riff-patterns are overall more concrete here, and the emphasis on melodic hooks is bigger. This album comes as a digested form of all the efforts of the death metal practitioners with a penchant for the twisted, and also melodic technicality, and with its length of a bit over half an hour it plays as a quick “the best of brutal technical death metal” compilation. The guys should not forget about this project of theirs, busy with their other bands, and should soon provide the expectant audience with another shining example of technical metal arse kicking.

Arsebreed. Read the name. You get a picture of what this band is after.

Arsebreed is no joke however. They're a band of good musicians that know what they want, and achieve it. They play speedy, groovy, technical brutal death metal. Being a fan of the upcoming Nuerotic Records label (new home of Psycroptic, Spawn of Possession, Prostitute Disfigurement), and after listening to "munching the rotten," online, I was very excited to give this album a go.

And I'm still not really disappointed... I just was never elevated from my original expectations, which were fairly neutral. Arsebreed's problem is common, and it's that they don't want to go far enough with their music. Not in terms of playing, or in terms of brutality, or other goals that too many bands seem to be placing these days. Arsebreed don't pursue a sound that distinct themselves, and creates a need to listen to more than just one of their songs. There are memorable riffs scattered throughout the release, and certainly some great songs. But why listen to Arsebreed when I can listen to bands that I have known for years with a similar styling, that just manage to do it even better?

This is the problem that Arsebreed face. They have a silly name, funny (but hardly original) gory song titles, and purposefully cartoonish and violent album artwork. But the music does not necessarily reflect this.. If I were listening to a band that REALLY wanted to have fun, I'd have more of a fun time listening to the music. But, arsebreed, along with many brual death metal bands, don't know how to separate their goal of being a fun band and a serious band... And thus, an inefficient mixture is created, where the band wants to make genuine, serious, brutal music, but still wants to retain funny, and immature imagery. I'm fine with fun music... But it has to be "really" fun, in order to work.

Still, if you're looking for a solid and brutal release with some melody... Check out Arsebreed, and you might have a more entertaining experience than me.