The Anomalies of Artificial Origin

On the rare occasions I find myself needing to explain slam death to someone, I often describe it as death metal for cavemen. While this description is a bit pejorative, even diehard slam fans likely wouldn't dispute it. In fact, they might even say that's what they like about the genre. With its emphasis on slow, crushing riffs, simplistic grooving nature, and general evasion of flashy, intricate playing, can you really say it doesn't sound like death metal taken back to some kind of stone age musical precursor? Well, Abominable Putridity's The Anomalies of Artificial Origin is the biggest step toward proving me wrong I've ever come across. While the album never veers too far from slam's standard playbook, there are plenty of deviations that add a bit of flavor, mainly taking the form of arpeggiated sequences and riffing of a more intricate and technical nature. These infusions of tech death trickery aren't quite enough to overcome the album's samey nature and lack of memorability, but they do give it a leg up on every other full-length slam album I've ever heard.

Abominable Putridity, despite a boring-ass name (don’t tell me Loathsome Decay and Abhorrent Rot were both already taken), delivers a fun, revved-up interpretation of slam death on The Anomalies of Artificial Origin. Despite its faithfulness to the slam format, though, The Anomalies of Artificial Origin should actually be capable of roping in people who aren't terribly interested in this divisive microgenre because it frequently incorporates more technical material. Album opener 'Remnants of the Tortured' has a few brief, well-placed arpeggios juxtaposed with faster drumming that sound great. 'A Massacre in the North' boasts some satisfying and downright menacing tremolos and 'A Burial for the Abandoned' has some dazzling leads, including a few soaring flourishes that sound harmonized, though only one guitarist is credited. This album’s more technical nature, however, mainly comes from a dependence on riffs that sound like tech death progressions. They aren’t as complicated as your average Brain Drill riff, but they’re a step up in terms of complexity for a slam band. Fans of traditional slam death need not worry about being left out in the cold, though, because there are still plenty of the bulldozer slams you crave.

While guitarist Sergey Balayan's arpeggiated sequences and drummer Alex Kubiashvili's abrupt tempo shifts and frequent incorporation of higher tempos (and even blast beats) don't make this album any catchier or help a listener tell one song from another, they do give listeners less interested in simplistic, palm-muted slams a respite from them. Twenty-five minutes of that shit would have been too much, but juxtaposing slow, basic riffs with snippets of a more technical nature goes a long way.

Speaking of ways, American frontman Matti Way's vocals are impressively brutal. People leaving comments on the Youtube video ‘Abominable Putridity – The Anomalies of Artificial Origin (2012) {Full-Album}’(sic) love to joke about how he sounds like the monster on this album's cover and there's no better comparison any reviewer could make. His growls are about as deep and guttural as a human vocalist can get but unfortunately they lack variety, texture, and emotion. His performance is simply a display of how low he can go. It isn't forceful and doesn't roar with life. Instead, he stays at the exact same spot in the mix the entire time, never letting loose any wild bellows or powerful shrieks. The instrumentalists frequently add a bit of spice to the music with some tricks imported from tech death but Way isn’t nearly as creative. He just stays in that uber-low gurgling tone at all times, which robs his performance of much-needed urgency. Oh, well. At least his squeals aren't painful for the listener.

Despite Abominable Putridity's exploration of tech death characteristics, The Anomalies of Artificial Origin is still crippled by a monotonous flavor. The band never quite manages to write catchy material or riffs that stand apart from each other. Even the less typical elements of the album's sound, like arpeggios, run together and lack distinction but the band's incorporation of more technical licks provides AoAO with just enough spice to remain interesting while staying true to slam's simplistic, brutish nature.

Okay, not exactly sure how I first stumbled upon these guys. I think I was stoned and was listening to Analepsy, and this came up in the suggested bands so I decided to check it out. First thing I noticed: the intro is from Dead Space! That alone won these guys a lot of bonus points right off the bat. And when "Remnants of the Tortured" actually kicked in, I was like HOLY SHIT this is good. I then started checking these guys out online, where they were from, when was this released, etc. And what do I see? Fucking Disgorge Matti is on vocals. Oh fuck yes.

I’ve been living with this album now for a good while and it is absolutely fucking skull crushing. It’s just way too good, and usually I’m not even a slam type of person. But this album is not all about slams or that crap, it’s actually just a very solid death metal record. Sharp riffs with just enough technicality, creative and powerful drumming, and absolutely insane vocals from Matti, who pretty much sounds like the demon that's on the album cover.

I don’t know what more to add, it’s just so good. It’s so much fun to listen to, and its all composed and put together in a way that just makes it easy to listen to and enjoy. All that said though, its brutal as fuck. And I’m not kidding when I say that. I mean, I wasn’t really surprised when I found out these guys were Russian, because Russians are fucking crazy. Leave it to them to kick things up a few notches.

I just can’t get over how fucking good this is. It grinds, it blasts, it slams and for the style they play, it’s just perfect. I’ve heard very few bands do it as good as this. The production too, is stellar. Everything is clear and loud as fuck. Feels like with every song you’re taking a sledgehammer to the chest.

Go get this.

These Russians just kick ass! I have this album shirt for a reason! If you are a fan of this band, you would know how AWFUL the debut was. I even reviewed it in September last year and explained why it was so horrible. This album, which came out 5 years after, was a HUGE improvement over the debut's sound. Who honestly liked In the End of Human Existence? If you do, The Anomalies of Artificial Origin will COMPLETELY blow it out of the water!

The change in sound is an IMMEDIATE one that's easy to spot. The debut tried to incorporate a slam sound, and failed miserably at it. This is more like brutal death metal, and rightfully so. The opening track, "Remnants of the Tortured", uses a sound clip (what a surprise; hundreds of other bands have done that before, especially in brutal death metal) from a video game, I found out. It certainly fits the album cover, which is a creature of artificial origin (no pun intended) breaking out of its bacta tank-like containment while killing scientists in the process. The guitars are extremely catchy, as well.

The vocals are much more brutal, thanks to Matti Way, who replaced Vladimir and his slam vocals that ruined the debut. It's also one of the growling styles that is somewhat easy to understand, like Cannibal Corpse, Jungle Rot, Ingested, or Aborted. Whether or not you like vocals in death metal that can be understood, that's up to you. Personally, I like a broad mix of understandable and indiscernible vocals, and this band is a good balance of the two.

The bass is there, just needs a bit more audibility. The drums are really good, too. I find myself air drumming sometimes with "Remnants of the Tortured", "Lack of Oxygen", "Letting them Fall", and "A Massacre in the North" simply because the drums are so good! However, the title track isn't as good. A lot of albums have a title track that either makes the album great, such as "Master of Puppets" by Metallica or "Holy War" by Thy Art Is Murder, but this unfortunately isn't one of them. The title track seems a bit...vague.

Overall, The Anomalies of Artificial Origin is FAR superior to the 2007 disaster, and it's a brutal death metal classic now. Well, it should be!

Rating:
9/10
90/100

“The Anomalies of Artificial Origin” has the reputation of a masterpiece in its own niche, I think. The whole ‘slam death metal’ thing I never understood, but I’m not one to judge. I mean, I knew a guy once who had a thing for buttholes. Not my cup of tea, but hey, do your thing. I guess “The Anomalies of Artificial Origins” makes sense at its best and leaves me feeling a familiar brand of disappointment if I’m donning the shit-covered glasses. There are things to admire judging Abominable Putridity at face value. There is competency and care placed in the brutal death metal spine of this alleged masterwork, sure, and a number of these riffs skewer one from eye to ear. The only problem holding it back, and it’s more than just a minor nuisance, is that slam death metal, from its inception, has been more voguish than substantial.

I’m not trying to incite an e-riot by pushing the whole sub-genre off a cliff, but it is true. The sound has an identity based on quick gratification, not actual quality. A group like Waking the Cadaver was all the rage at some point in time, but now they’ve mostly fizzled out of relevancy. Abominable Putridity may be the genetically superior version of what the world knows from this vocation, perhaps its Zeus, though Hephaestus may look like the king of kings when implementing standards is secondary to style. These are the issues raised throughout “The Anomalies of Artificial Origin” that are left untouched: What does this bring to slam death metal? What makes Abominable Putridity significant? Why should we care?

Abominable Putridity sticks to what it knows and what we expect. The soil of death metal riffs and motifs are supplemented by guttural vocal oinking and abrupt drop-offs in pace that crash into breakdowns with the grace of a teenager learning how to drive. The riffs, sequences and themes akin to modern brutal/technical death metal guitar work are done above the herd standard, and actually manage to convey the intended ferocity quite well. The pacing forms that launch these tracks into clunky drop-offs, however, are constant measures and the driving force behind the whole record. The sudden jerking around, especially when the album begins to pace itself, throws everything off. Breakdowns and their likeness in this setting are amateurish, simple tools to eliminate the trickier stuff, like nuance.

All eight tracks are stuffed up in the same way; little happens outside the lines. Abominable Putridity is a group of impressive technical chops with fine foundational elements of brutal death metal, other than the laughable puking vocals. Whatever momentum they gain is sidelined when the breakdowns and chugs send the album into spasms of awkward pace. The fact remains that if Abominable Putridity and this style were to find themselves fleshed out and pumped up, then perhaps the notion of elevating the record to a higher status might make sense. Truth be told, the alleged best of its kind is just a skip above the baseline.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

Rebounding with their sophomore release, this album makes everything on their debut absolutely irrelevant. "In the End of Human Existence" suffered from unoriginal slam inhales, poor production, and terrible structure with each song being slam after slam, making it nearly impossible to even tell them apart. By the first track, "Remnants of the Tortured", you can feel this is a vastly different release. The guitar tone is absolutely massive, and while there are no audible bass doodles or breaks in songs where the bass can be heard clearly, this is no problem because the bassist creates a solid foundation for the pummeling slams and riffing being played. The riffing is spectacular, and is reminiscent of Pathology, with a buzzy and disgusting guitar tone. "A Massacre In The North" and "Burial For The Abandoned" are tracks that display the catchiness this album offers perfectly, both having gigantic and brutal mid-song breakdowns.

Ex-Disgorge and Pathology vocalist Matti Way destroys on this album. He has a unique inhale sound, with his lispy, grunting vocals completely regurgitating throughout. He is a complete three sixty from the previous vocalist, who was very boring and kept one inhale sound the entire debut album. He is the perfect compliment for the brutal ferocity that the rest of the band lays down. The drummer is very solid, and has a snare that sounds like a cannon. Part of what accent the slams are the interesting double bass patterns the drummer chooses to use in his breakdowns. His double bass sound is a bit clicky, but it's not super high in the mix so it doesn't sound bad. What really makes this album stand out is that in a matter of seconds it can go from being brutal as hell, before being thrown straight into a really cool arpeggiated technical riff, and then smashed on the pavement again with more unstoppable and punishing slams. The sweeping is not a super common occurrence, but it creates a "holy shit" moment when it happens. It is very well timed, and not overused at all.

This album is relentless. It is merciless and slamming brutality. It takes you, shreds you through a meat grinder, and spits you out in a thousand pieces. This is the best slam death has to offer, and while the genre can get tedious, this album is proof interesting things can be done with the genre. When someone tells you slam has no talent, throw on this album, and watch their jaw drop in utter disbelief.

Abominable Putridity used to be one of every other slam band around. Didn't stand out much, sounded just like any slam band, and didn't make it that far. Now, with this release, I would like to say that this band is anything but shit. Pure ingeniousness went into this album, and that's purely what it is. I did like the previous album, but this is no doubt WAY more improved.

First off, the vocals. They couldn't have found a better vocalist. Matti Way does an absolutely solid job handling vocal duties. He has a lot of skills in his screams, and also has a variation of different sounding vocals which also make them much more bearable. Of any slam band, I've never heard more diverse vocals from a group. The guitars are are fucking excellent here. Some very good riffs. It's not just the same monotonous shit being repeated. These are very diverse, and very well composed guitar parts. Very melodic while still maintaining their signature slam style. The drumming is amazing, to say the least. Extremely fast, precise, and consistent. They also made it fit with the guitar parts very well. Each instrument flows excellently with one another. Unfortunately, as you may have already assumed, there is no bass to speak of which disappoints me because I definitely think the bassist is just as capable as the guitarists and his talent could be heard had it been made hearable in the production.

Now for the production. Wow, just wow. One of the best produced albums I've ever heard, and that is an understatement. Everything sounds excellent. Certainly way better than most other slam death metal album productions. It's also mixed pretty well so you can hear most everything equally, save for the bass. But why this album is so good is because it's more than just slam. It stands out so much more than any other slam I've ever heard. In conclusion, if you want to hear a top notch, creative, and well produced album, then this is no doubt your solution. Please, and I mean PLEASE, get this album.

Whilst brutal death metal has been around for a seemingly amount of time, only in the last few years has it really increased in size of bands and releases, especially due to the surge in slam bands. Whilst many repeat what's already been done and Abominable Putridity have crafted a masterpiece in brutal death. Weighing in at 25 minutes this album is shorter than most albums in the genre, but it short length is definitely made up in it's brutality and exciting song writing. The music itself is very complex for slam turning not just slow to fast, it often changes rhythms in terms of triples and shows to be very advanced in song writing there is no linear A-B-A-B song structures here, just a mess of chugs in creative rhythms followed by blasts. No section is ever drawn out and it never feels repetitive.

The first thoughts that come to mind when the music actually starts are when the heavily triggered/sampled drums rattle in at ungodly speeds. Whilst many bands are criticized for their use of samples in drums, I applaud it the heaviness and thunder it creates is phenomenal and the vocals are unmatched by many bands the range and the creativity is impressive. The guitars are never usually too noticeable in this genre but they fit very well in this album, well recorded and the riffs compliment the drums and the vocals nicely. The technicality is also impressive whilst there are simple chugs, included are also fast sweeps and riff-ing to a quality of many technical death metal bands. Slam is a genre often criticized for it's simplicity, it's the genre metal heads often hate for this. But Abominable Putridity perform to such a standard that is on par with respected bands such as Dying Fetus, Nile or Cattle Decapitation. This is why I applaud this album and rate it so highly, it's not only raised the bar for slamming brutal death metal, it's encouraged a whole heap of new bands to create as brutal albums to be the relevant on the scene, many of these bands signed to the bands label Inherited Suffering records.

Overall I'd definitely recommend to anyone who likes death metal, as it's only been out a year and has been so influential, think of what it will do in years to come...

I consider myself a reasonably patriotic American when it comes to a lot of things, but one exception I tend to make is for brutal death metal. Perhaps it's my general aversion to bands with either slam or deathcore influences, but most of what makes waves in this style on my side of the Atlantic tends to get the cold shoulder. Abominable Putridity doesn't necessarily grab my attention with their incredibly generic name, but the hype surrounding this album with its inclusion of well-respected American phlegm-gargler Matti Way definitely proved to peek my curiosity, not to mention talk of a somewhat more varied approach to this style that moves away from the redundancy of American brutality withouth technicality of late.

The "Resident Evil" inspired album art definitely showcases an album that doesn't obsess solely on gore and violence for its own sake, and the contents provide a rather intricate mixture of Suffocation influenced brutality and noodling with a lyrical approach that rests somewhere between the scientific ponderances of Wormed (within a horror/sci-fi context of course) and the general violece of Jungle Rot and Cannibal Corpse. Production wise, this listens pretty close to the clarity and nastiness of Suffocation's later 90s output with a slightly more mechanized character, helped along quite a bit by a riff set that's a tad bit more formulaic, but still far busier than the usual drudgery associated with this style lately. In actuality, this bears a pretty strong resemblance to the most recent output of Dying Fetus, complete with the suddenly lead sweeps and scale runs that are frequent enough to spice things up, but noticeably not as indulgent as Arsis' "We Are The Nightmare".

While definitely a cut above the rest, "The Anomalies Of Artificial Origin" is not wholly free of the residual sub-genre flaws that many similar albums suffer from. The mid-paced breakdown sections are primarily where this album suffers a bit, occuring too frequently and bringing in a very lazy and repetitive groove character that definitely points to the American slam influences that likely hurt this band with brutal death fans on their debut "In The End Of Human Existence". On the opposite side of the spectrum is a very predictable assortment of blast beats and machine gun drumming that comes off as kinda mechanical. Thankfully this album does not suffer from the annoying, popping, picolo snare drum sound that made Waking The Cadaver's debut one of the worst abominations to every surface beneath the death metal umbrella, and the aforementioned flaws don't dominate the whole album.

All else being equal, Abominable Putridity would definitely do well by keeping Matti Way in the fold despite the long plane rides that it entails, as his signature bottom heavy belches carry this album quite well, but they would do better by expanding upon what they've accomplished here by scaling back the breakdowns even more and perhaps incorporating some other faster stylistic devices along the lines of what Suffocation would do in a similar capacity and maybe a bit more technical elements. Then again, my enjoyment of this style largely rests on it being mixed with things that are generally not a part of its normal practices, but if you buy one brutal/slam influenced album from 2012, this is definitely one to consider.

Much unlike the samples it uses, this album's brutal beginnings grip you by the balls and never let go. For a good part of the album, this band uses a pretty standard brutal death metal combination of alternating 32nd note and triplet blast beats, somewhat syncopated bass and guitar riffing combined with a very unique style of vocals compared to other bands I've listened to lately. This band also very effectively employs tempo changes (I don't count breakdowns as true tempo changes seeing as they're more or less obligatory in brutal death metal).

Let's start with the vocals. From the very beginning, I noted that this vocalist has a distinctly frostier quality to his vocals. That's not to say they're any less brutal than others à la Kraanium or Dying Fetus, but the vocalist is able to present vocals that sound a lot like the sound of the suction devices a dentist would use. He of course can revert to standard brutal death growling and screaming, but only does so sparingly which makes for some good variety which is quite frankly absent in the vast, vast majority of brutal death metal. The vocalist also layers different patterns which helps create an interesting melody/counter melody effect (or even fugues in some cases).

The drums do their job to provide a good canvas onto which the guitarist, vocalist, and bassist can paint their brutal, sanguine masterpiece. All in all, there was nothing innovative about the way the drums were played, but they were, needless to say, very well-executed. There's nothing wrong with adhering to an existing style so long as it doesn't nakedly rip off the work of another band.

The basses and guitars use pretty standard riffs that play off of the drum's intensity with occasionally frantic riffs, and also very block-like and regimented grooves. They also make good use of syncopation and tempo changes to keep the music interesting throughout the album. I can't tell you how many brutal death metal bands I've listened to that just drone on with the same few patterns and think that wearing a slave mask on stage will mask how banal and unimaginative their music is. Abominable Putridity, thankfully keeps it fresh.

All in all, my only grievances were the album's length and the Dead Space samples included at the beginning. Even by brutal death metal standards, it was a bit short, and this is simply a matter of opinion, but I don't think the Dead Space samples really suited their aesthetic because of the music's assaulting brutality isn't much like Dead Space's edge-of-your-seat suspense. But regardless, this was a good album and I'd highly recommend it to any brutal death metal fan.

Five years might not seem like a long period against the grand sum of 'human existence', but in the development of a band's songwriting skill and technical ability it can prove an eternity. Russians Abominable Putridity enforce this sentiment by putting their time to good use, and releasing a sophomore which loses absolutely none of the belligerent, bone-breaking ballast of its predecessor, while simultaneously adding a lot of variation and further brutal/tech death metal concessions to the riffing matrix that simply make for a more enjoyable, pummeling experience in the end. In short: In the End of Human Existence might have sufficed for a few 14 year-olds venting their anger in the pit on a Friday night at an all-ages gig, but there is something in The Anomalies of Artificial Origin for the rest of us too, and through this transition they don't seem to have alienated anyone but the most nitpicking neanderthals out to troll the universe.

Note: this is not an exponential 'progression', it simply capitalizes on any plausible strengths of the Russians' mosh-first foundation by threading in a more exciting frenzy of distractions that in turn help the grooves to really smack down the listener once they arrive. Tremolo runs, arpeggio fits and blast beats are surely not novel to brutal death metal, but for Abominable Putridity they assist in dispersing the monotonous thuggery of the near constant breakdowns. Which you'll hear PLENTY of, mind you, in their usual procession of mid-paced palm-muted patterns that refrain and then slow to a brawl-worthy crawl; but even here the notes selected are just a fraction more interesting in rolling behemoths like "A Burial for the Abandoned" and the kinetic, constantly engaging title track which hints at smatterings of everything from Deicide and Cannibal Corpse style riff cycles to spasms of Decapitated or Necrophagist. The individual riffs aren't really all that special, granted, but where the debut was a whole lot of 'miss', you're at least getting a handful of hits this time out.

The mix of the album is slightly more polished than the debut, suitable for the increased use of brief flurries of leads; but I felt that the crunch of the guitars was quite comparable. The drums are better balanced against themselves, but probably a little lighter in contrast to the guitar than on the debut. The bassist does still plug along beneath the guitar for most of the 26 minute play-length, but the increased presence of dual harmony or lead runs ensure that he gets a lot more chance for his fills to really pop out along the undertow. Once clear area of improvement is in the use of American Matti Way (Pathology, Cinerary, etc) to perform the vocals here. He does his best to remain loyal to the prior front man, but he's got this inherent flexibility to his timbre which is ultimately more dynamic across the chortling rasps, gurgles and sustained depths of guttural spew. The man isn't just emulating some abandoned, static toilet bowl; people actually come along to use this thing, leave a few friends off and then flush after themselves through Way's shifting intonations.

All in all, is The Anomalies of Artificial Origins a 'good' album? That I can't say for certainty, since only a few of the songs like "Wormhole Inversion", "A Massacre in the North", or the title cut felt inspiring enough to want to keep revisiting them. I would be unlikely to break this out over hundreds of other brutal or tech death metal efforts unless I was truly in the mood for something baseline, polished and MMA-trained. The lyrics are pretty well written but all over the place, from specific scenes of torture and mortality to broader examinations of civilization, science and religion, congealed into a sci-fi crust. Ultimately, though, it kicks the tits off the debut, and those in the mood for some slam which takes itself seriously enough not to string you along with the monotonous, stifling armpit stench of unwashed ennui could do far worse than check this out. Others who prefer a pure 90s pounding in the vein of mid-era Suffocation, sans any further innovation might also dig it.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I originally thought, wow, what a crock of shit, people still play slam? But slowly it dawned on me there were good riffs here and a nice dose of technicality and turn-arounds. If I leave aside my predisposition to stigmatize (rightfully so) almost all slam as talentless ballsack, I find there actually is worthwhile music here. And the production is just so heavy. Like metal apparatus being driven into your skull, like being run over by a steamroller, like a chainsaw to your auditory canal. Spot on production; super heavy, not overly clean and not at all unbalanced or unclear.

The whole album kind of goes back and forth between riffs that are good for being slam (not necessarily saying much) and some technical-type riffs. Slam riff, technical riff, slam riff, slower slam riff, technical riff...kind of interesting except, y'know, still 50% slam riffs. Again though, the slam riffs have enough interesting drums and guitar licks hidden in them that most of them end up being legitimate riffs.

The vocals are low pig squeals, far and away one of my least favorite types of vocals, but I can look past it here. Despite the notion that harsh vocals make the lyrics impossible to make out, I can normally make out a good amount of words - not happening here. It's not even that you can't understand a word, it's that it doesn't sound like words are being spoken, but just animalistic noise.

There's actually some interesting lyrics and themes going on here. Space exploration, Egyptian gods, alien creators and a mention of time travel - you know, in addition to the death and gore stuff. Kind of corny, but at least they added something a little different for their genre.

Pros: Flawless production. Truly heavy as fuck. Nice technical riffs here and there.

Cons: Silly vocals and lots of slam riffs. Not doing anything new by any means.

If you happen to like slam, this is good for slam, and if you want something to throw on that is just plain produced as well as an album could be produced for death metal, it might be worth a listen.

After the abysmal debut that was "In the End of Human Existence" their vocalist departed and Abominable Putridity set out to find a new vocalist. After recruiting and losing Big Chocolate of Disfiguring The Goddess fame, Matti Way of Disgorge/Pathology fame took the role. It seems after bringing in brutal death metal royalty the band suddenly gained the ability to write and play good slam!

This is still much of the same chuggy thuggy slam found on the debut, but there have been many improvements that make this album for more listenable and enjoyable. For a start, Matti Way's signature low growl is far more entertaining than the dull Wayne Knupp plagiarism found on the first album. The slams aren't particularly varied, but they're very heavy and don't become painfully slow to the point you feel yourself getting dumber as you listen. The guitarists also throw in a few quick bursts of Origin-esque sweeping patterns, just to keep things interesting. The drummer plays a range of blast beats and technical fills. The bass is also quite audible and provides an extra layer of heaviness to the slams

The production is clear, but not overproduced. Everything is in the mix perfectly. Most notably the drums don't sound like a laptop keyboard and the snare doesn't sound like a tennis ball in a paint can, as one would expect the drums on a slam album to.

Also, that album art is fucking brilliant! Finally a band have broken the trend of butchered prostitutes, misogynistic torture and/or a small army of rotting zombies adorning your album cover. The intro to the album has sounds that seem to depict the sound of what is going on the album art. This huge man-made creature breaking free from his prison and massacring those who created it.

Overall, this is just a huge improvement from the piece of shit they put out 5 years ago. Fans of slam who don't mind a bit of technicality thrown in for good measure should find a bit of enjoyment out of this.