Perceptive Deception

The first bands I heard when listening to this album? I heard a bit of Purity of Perversion-era Aborted, a bit of Effigy-era Suffocation and a bit of their fellow countrymen Severe Torture. So one could say this is brutal death metal, which it certainly is, and it's very good brutal death metal. It's not original by any means, but the bands they've chosen to emulate are good choices, so I won't hate on them.

The guitar work on this album consists of fast downtuned death metal riffs. Reasonably technical, and very similar to the earliest Suffocation releases. There are no solos, which is a shame and would've scored some bonus points, but I won't complain, because the rest of the music is just so good. There is a lot of bass presence, though the bassist does seem to just follow the guitars. The drums are what one can expect from this style of music. Lots of blast beats and technical fills. The vocalist sounds like a combination of Sven de Caluwé and Frank Mullen. Very brutal, but also not very understandable.

The music is very consistent. No dip in quality. Straightforward and enjoyable throughout. While a bit more variation wouldn't have gone amiss, the actual music contained within is satisfactory. A great release. This is hardly unique, but if you're fan of any or all of the three bands i've compared them to, then this should be right up your alley.

If you’ve ever wondered what the differences between the “technical” and “brutal” death metal subgenres are, I’d like to recommend the following series of steps which may or may not lead to the clarification of this matter. And along the way, we will use the deep, intelligent, and boner-inducing lyrics of Disavowed to guide us.

The area between extremes opens up multiple possibilities_
It enhances objectiveness in criticizing matter involved
Because it's based upon differentiated ways of thinking...

What a helpful way to think about it! Thanks, Disavowed. Onward. First, listen to Cannibal Corpse’s “The bleeding” and Suffocation’s “Pierced from within.” Not their debut albums, I know, but a good representation of where each band was coming from at the time. Note a mix of varied song structures, choruses, and dare I say an odd sense of melody to differentiate between songs. Can you call this stuff brutal? You most certainly can. Can you say there are breakdowns, or at least slow, rhythmic sections juxtaposed with faster, blasting sections? Again, yes. Are both albums pretty spiffy? They are. Good job, everyone, you’ve completed step one.

Matter has to be objective in order to make it discussable
The object of discussion needs to be a tangible one
To every subject involved, so it has to refer to a tangible object...

Good point. Let’s refer to another pair of tangible objects, namely compact discs, to further this discussion. We’ve taken a look at some of the founders of the brutal death scene, who also have had some impact on the tech death masses as well. As time passed the two subgenres seemed to grow further and further apart. To make things fair (since the Platonic scholars of Disavowed would undoubtedly prefer that), let’s take two examples from around the same time period and on the same label.

You know what I think (http://www.globaldomination.se/reviews/deeds-of-flesh-crown-of-souls) about "Crown of souls" already. It is brutal death right down to the last metronome blast, and it blows. Deeds of Flesh are looked upon as great inspiration among their peers. Surprise, surprise. Don’t even bother listening to “Crown of souls,” because you’re soon to hear an album that sounds just like it. But not yet. Next queue up an undeniably tech death album, “Scepter of the ancients” by Psycroptic. Have the last strains of the “Scepter of Jaar-gilon” faded out? Wasn’t that song awesome? Yes, while there are some snoozers the power of the ‘crop is undeniable. They have intricate song structures, various tempos (not just blast-slam-blast), melodic content, varied vocals, and *ACTUAL FUCKING SONGS*. It appears that key points of difference between brutal and tech have started to emerge. What do you think, Disavowed?

The confrontation between dominant structures
And unsuppressed intelligence occur at the edges of society
Crises can be measured in the dynamic state of confrontation
It enhances creativity, stagnation won't occur

Fuckin’ A! Okay, you’ve made it this far. Now comes the time for the final step. Prep the album “Perceptive deception” by Disavowed in the music playing device of your choice. Set the volume at a moderate level. Hit play…and…prepare to be bored to tears by another cookie-cutter brutal death metal band. If you can pick four or five actual songs from the pile of blasts, über-guttural monotone mic-cupping grunts, general rifflessness, and semi-catchy breakdowns then you are a better man than I. Just look at the singer’s last name. Says it all.

Is this as shitty as Deeds of Flesh? No, they have a better drum sound and at least two or three of these songs could be called listenable. Which ones? Got me. But I’m not going to trade “Perceptive deception” away, or smear it with grasshopper guts and drop it on the rainforest floor in hopes of an army ant attack. Instead, I am going to keep it in my collection, so that when confronted with the educated opinion of some fourteen year old brutal death metal fan outside a show I can at least have a point of reference from which to argue. I think I’ll quote my Dutch pals when I deliver the last word on “brutality”;

It enhances man's natural drive to form clusters
And to compete with others within the framework of these structures

In the end, I have to thank Disavowed for confirming what I had already guessed. There is indeed a difference between technical and brutal death metal. Some tech death is good, most brutal death is the equivalent of a hamburger made out of horse clitori. Thanks to everyone who participated in my little exercise. I’ll leave you with one last thought from everyone’s favorite philosophers of North Brabant and the score.

Creation has to evolve from necessity
It's always on the crossing border of
Existing and non-existing matter
Creation will be based upon imagination

2 out of ten necessities to create an imaginative demise for brutal death out of 10

Oh, and a side note of the cover art. Apparently the same torture killer who did this: (http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/cc/6_cannibal_c_vile.jpg) is back at it! Someone had better stop him before he strikes again.

Originally posted at www.globaldomination.se

Once again Holland has introduced the Underground Scene with yet another great act.This band revolves around the American Death Metal act, with inspirations from bands such as Deeds of Flesh, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Disgorge and many others. One cannot forget their fellow countrymen Severe Torture and Pyaemia.All nine tracks in this album are brutal and sick. The vocalist has a unique style of growling whilst the backing vocals come from Joel of Pyaemia. The lyrics are also rather different to normal Death Metal bands but still rather interesting to follow. The drummer who is also Robbe V from Pyaemia is till brutal as ever with Disavowed. Even though Disavowed tend to repeat their riffs quite frequently and some are quite similar to each other, they do it in such a way that it doesn’t bore the listener. Speed, technique and melody rule all their songs making it an enjoyable CD to listen too, from track 1 to 9.

The production is great. The cover art is by well-known artist Jon Zig who drew cover arts for bands such as Deeds of Flesh, Disgorge etc. The CD also contains a video clip of one of their songs mastered by Robbe K the Vocalist. The sound quality is fucking amazing. All the instruments are levelled perfectly one cannot complain about the recording.In conclusion I think that this is a true masterpiece for all Metal Heads that listen to Death Metal. It’s a definite must in everyone’s CD collection.

This album can be instantly described with a few familiar words; fast, technical, brutal, Suffocation. For some metal fans, myself included, these are the key ingredients, and enough to mark a great death metal album. The production is immaculate, the band have their own sound within the limited confines of the genre, very bassy, but it is also very clear and doesn't suffer from the mudiness that often obscures the riffs in many DM acts. The vocalist has an original style too, slightly more high-pitched than usual, but very fast and very coarse. The lyrics are slightly unusual, short philosophical rants regarding existentialism as far as I could tell, which make an interesting change. The unrelenting high-tempo makes the songs quite breathtaking to listen to, mostly because the band exhibits an exceptionally fluid style, while maintaining the complex structure of the riffs. This is where Disavowed scores extra points over their rivals in my opinion, because they have managed to avoid the jagged and sometimes frustrating start-stop ethic that many DM seem to deem as necessary to reach the technical content quotient. The marks the band lose are simply because they haven't done anything amazingly original. But as a model of how good death metal can be when put into really heavy, crystal clear production with intensely accomplished instrumentalists exhibiting an ability to write mature and dynamic songs, this surely ransk alongside the best.