Review Summary: A brutal death classic that withstands the test of time with its slammy guttural goodness, Devourment's 1.3.8 remains a notorious, yet influential staple of the death metal scene
ARTIST NAME: Devourment
ALBUM TITLE: '1.3.8' (Compilation)
RELEASE YEAR: 2000
GENRE: Slamming Brutal Death Metal
LOCATION: Texas, USA
PREVIEW:Â*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63QIFZ46LQY
Now, where do I even begin with this album...? It is a masterpiece of brutal death & slam metal in its own right -- and I mean this in every way possible.Â*
From the slamming groove guitar riffs, to the varying yet persistently gruesome vocal talents of bothÂ*Ruben Rosas and the late Wayne Knupp, and to the ground-breakingly swift drum patterns and blast beats throughout, there is none that an avid enthusiast of the genreÂ*would want more out of an album.Â*
Before we get into the groove of it, let's bring in some background information, shall we. This release dropped in the year of 2000 and acts as a compilation disc that consists of eleven (11) tracks in total: one (1) track acts (also the opening track) as a bonus/never-before-heard song that is known as 'BabyKiller', which happens to also arguably be my favorite offering of this entire album. The song itself is pretty notorious within the brutal death community as being one of the major influences for future slam acts, as well as the most renowned among the bdm community for its lyricism as well as the notion that it was the last song the band recorded with Wayne Knupp before his leaving.Â*
Secondly, the three (3)Â*forthcoming tracks are all from their 1997 Impaled demo, which Knupp was also featured on.
Lastly, the final eight (8) tracks are songs from their debut album entitled 'Molesting The Decapitated'...you know, the one with the headless guy sitting idle on the ***ter with his baby dick out...yeah, that one. It's nothing new if you haven't listened to that album beforehand already, but it's great since they're mostly rerecorded.
Going into the music itself...what can I really say? It's slamming, gory, brutality at its ultimate finest. The mixture of slamming riffs, low-down gutturals, and blast beat drumming is truly a treat to listen to. However, if you're a death metal purist or someone who is looking for something a bit more than just tasty slam riffs and gutturals (i.e. technicality, solos), then you may be a bit disappointed just a tad. On the other hand, this still stands as a masterpiece within its own boundaries...and an opus for what's in store for the future of slam.
In conclusion, this is one of my favorite albums in the brutal death/slam genres, it has greatly influenced the rise of other bands within the boundaries of the same style of music, and there's A LOT of reasons to check it out. If you're a fan of this music and you haven't already, then you may just be a massive failure at life. Well, not really, but it's still unfortunate since it's soooo damn good! The production may not be the best, and the mixing itself ain't up to snuff, but what do you expect from a low-end extreme metal release that came out over fifteen (15) years ago?! Do not pass this one up!!
Score: 8.138/10
Favourite Track: 'BabyKiller'
