There are some artists who write beautiful music. Pretty, lovely music that you'd play over a romantic dinner or perhaps in a serenade to swoon the lady of your dreams. Let's just say Origin isn't one of those bands. The Topeka, Kansas five piece is, simply unfriendly, unpretty, and to the majority of the general public, completely unlistenable. When I go out and say that this is one of the most brutal bands I've ever heard, I'm not kidding by any stretch of the imagination. This is one of those bands that is even too brutal for some metalheads!
Listening to an Origin album is a lot like getting run over by a train. It's loud, unrelenting, and generally painful. Their brutal combination of technical death metal and grindcore creates a sound that is nothing sort of punishing. Machine-gun drumming, rapid fire riffing, and a three-way, all-out vocal assault are all combined into absolutely furious assaults of absolutely brutal death metal. On Informis Infinitas inhumanitas, the band's second album, guttural growls and high screams come at you from all sides as the band pummels you into submission for 28 and a half minutes. Yes, this is a "full-length" album that clocks in at under a half hour, but quite frankly, anything longer may be dangerous to your health. Just one spin through this album is more than enough to wear you the hell out, and that's saying a lot.
If you're feeling daring enough to take the plunge into the world of Origin, Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas is a good place to start (even though I can never remember the title of the album and have to keep looking it up on the cover). Although it's not as polished as Echoes of Decimation (well, as "polished" as Origin can be), it seems to have a much heavier sound and is generally more unforgiving. Origin is definitely a band that you almost have to work your way up to, and the loudness and insanity of Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas is a true testament to that.
Going into any sort of depth on the tracks included is pretty meaningless, because they are all pretty similar. They're all in the 2-3 minute range, and are all unrelenting assaults on the listener from start to finish. Some songs have a periodic pause or whatnot, but only to build up the upcoming explosion that will kick you right across the face. When "Inhuman" starts off with "Anyone who isn't dead or from another plane of existence would do well to cover their ears right about....NOW", it basically sets the tone of this entire album (yes, I know this is track 2, but it's a cool soundbyte nonetheless). Of all the songs included though, I'd have to say "Perversion of Hate" is probably my favorite. It's a true rapid-fire attack, with constant vocal trade-offs and frenetic instrumentation. "Portal" is one of the band's more famous songs, and is definitely a solid moment as well. It of course carries on in the tradition of the other songs, and is as unforgiving as everything else on here. Another fine moment of the album comes on "Meat for the Beast", which features a very blatant reference to an old Carcass song - one must wonder if this was done intentionally.
Ballads? No way. Not Origin. Melody? Not really, but it's there. Unforgiving, breakneck metal produced in a way that will kick you right in the groin? Yep, you'll get it here. Suffice to say, Origin isn't your average metal band, but they're VERY VERY good at what they do. Pick this up if you're feeling daring.
