Amputated

Dissect, Molest, Ingest

Written by: EW on 10/02/2014 22:12:53

I signed up for this review partly through being somewhat acquainted with British brutal death metallers Amputated's back catalogue, but predominantly through a rememberance of their hilarious involvement in this BBC musical collaboration program from a few years back (go watch now if you have never seen it) which sadly confirmed many of the negative stereotypes about (extreme) metal music and it's practitioners. So, yes, I arrived at the Bristolian five pieces' third album, "Dissect, Molest, Ingest", with a negative mindset that has subsequently not changed in the numerous listens I've given.

In truth the album is not actually as bad as I first feared, although there is no doubt that almost everything I look for in metal, whether it be the more extreme or classic-orientated variants, is missing in today's world of brutal DM. I have been branded an unworthy critic in levelling such critiques against the genre in the past, an accusation which insinuates those who idolise gore-obsessed, misogynistic, guttural, monotone death metal ONLY will appreciate this and well, if that's the case I'm happy to be on the outside. But enough with the scene politics. Opener "Body of Work" fittingly sets the scene with clippings of news reports detailing cases of rape and murder patched together before "Gorging on Putrid Discharge" bludgeons into view with a bass-heavy rhythm riff taking the song through a mid-speed outing with plenty of chug and guitar squeal in it's latter sections to entertain the pit posse. "The Local Flavour" gets into gear with a plethora of inhumane gravity blasts backing the saturation of Mark Gleed's guttural growls and the shifting chord patterns of Daryl Barrett-Cross and Kai Cursons, but as quickly becomes apparent through the progression of the album there is very little to differentiate this from one song to the next. The odd riff stands out from the pack - I'm thinking of one apiece in "Skullfuck Lobotomy", "Six Feet Deep" and "Toolbox Abortionist" while some touches of groove exist here and there - but 90% of the lot are so lacking in imagination and artistic merit that just making it through the album's 34 minutes becomes a serious challenge.

The production on "Dissect, Molest, Ingest" is well-suited to the job at hand, giving a clarity to the layer of guitars, a healthy punch to Harry Jewel's bass, a clinical sterility to Gareth Arlett on drums and the gurgling and snarling vocals but in doing so it simples accentuates the fact there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of bands worldwide peddling this kind of material, all merrily singing ditties like "I defile every orifice/ Trying to scream with her last breath as I slowly fuck her to death/ She dies like so many others, bleeding, with my cock in her anus" ("When Whores Meet Saws") in a vacuous display of brutal indulgence, mindfully oblivious to the offering of anything new to the genre or even simply the appearance of emotion and feeling in their performances. While not squarely aimed at "Dissect, Molest, Ingest", for I have heard much worse, I wish to accuse gore-laden brutal death metal in general that all efforts in appropriating the most extreme possible sound and image, in a day when this stuff simply does not shock like metal did in the 80s, have reduced the genre to a simmering cesspit of soulless, spiritually bankrupt acts giving a bad name to the legions of extreme metal bands who take a considered and upstanding approach to their works and over whom I would not shed a tear if tomorrow was their last day. Or, perhaps, I'm just an cynical old metal bastard who sets the bar too high for my daily dose of extreme metal...

3

Download: Skullfuck Lobotomy, Toolbox Abortionist
For The Fans Of: Devourment, Ingested, Cannibal Corpse
Listen: Facebook

Release date 14.01.2014
Sevared Records

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