Review Summary: This came out in 1992?
Everything about this album I find strange. The album & band name. The artwork. How everything this album does shouldn't work on paper, yet it does. Even the year it came out perplexes me.
Fuzzy, almost clean bass. Heavy guitar. Harsh vocals, bordering on growling. Hell, there's even slap bass and a very small rap section. This is among the strangest genre blends I’ve heard yet and executes it terrifically. The album always kept me interested and on my toes. The tempo can change from fast and aggressive to slow and groovy. Even with the jazzy drumming, this is still at its core Death Metal. There's blast beats here and there, and you won’t miss out on fast and ever changing tempos. Just the way it's executed will throw people off. The bass really shines in tracks like “Addicting Seas of Missing Pleasure”. The bass creates a really nice contrast with the distorted guitar. Even when it’s not a forefront, it's still very interesting how a simple tone change can shake things up. Another standout is “Groove”. Really is the best track to listen to test the waters for this album. It has the above mentioned, not to mention a groovy yet aggressive tempo that it switches back and forth to.
I mentioned before that the time of release confuses me. If you don’t know about the history of Death Metal, this album was released in the very first wave, when bands that were laying the foundation released their debut. I’ve noticed with artists pushing the boundaries of a genre typically happens in the second or third wave, not among the very first releases. (Unless, of course, the genre is about pushing the boundaries in general.)
The last thing is the artwork. It really gives off the feeling of “What the hell is going on” that the album provides. I really respect these guys for setting themselves apart so early in a genre's history.
Jazz & Death Metal? It just works. No more questions.
Recommended Tracks: Groove, Addicting Seas of Missing Pleasure, Idiosyncrasy.
