Showing posts with label DYING FETUS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DYING FETUS. Show all posts

9.12.2023

DYING FETUS

 








"make them beg for death"
Year:  2023
Country:  US
City:  Baltimore, MA
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  45 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal













Entering the supposed twilight years of a lengthy career, Baltimore death metal legends Dying Fetus show no signs of losing their edge or slipping into a set-and-forget comfort zone. If anything, the veteran trio, consisting of band leader John Gallagher (guitars/uber low vox), Sean Beasley (bass/mid-low range growls), and Trey Williams (drums) have been on a tear since consolidating their slimmed-down power trio set-up back on 2009’s Descend into Depravity. Since launching their 1996 debut LP Purification of Violence Dying Fetus have long cemented themselves as big-time players, especially within the brutal death/slam field of thuggery. Overcoming a litany of line-up shuffles and finally consolidating a consistent line-up in later years has reaped dividends. The trio sound tighter than ever, the songwriting is still punchy and impactful. However, has six years in recording wilderness dulled the band’s well-worn killing blades?

2017s darkly visceral Wrong One to Fuck With was an immense follow-up to 2012’s outstanding Reign Supreme, with its main issue being album length dragging past the band’s usually concise platform. It was by no means a major flaw. The album still crushed and remains one of their stronger releases since 2000’s seminal Destroy the Opposition. Dying Fetus continue to work within the boundaries of their long-established and slickly executed brutal death/tech/slam formula. The rugged tone and slimmed-down runtime, clocking in at a tight thirty-seven minutes, finds the band in a particularly fun, slammy mood, more akin to Reign Supreme than its immediate predecessor. It’s meaty, thrashy, and blessed with trademark hooks and accessibility. Artfully combining slamming grooves, technical proficiency, and an effortlessly catchy streak, with thick-necked, beefy brutality that never skimps on the blasts, speed or intensity, Make Them Beg for Death is a gritty, back-to-basics throwdown, mixing classic old school vibes with refined modern tweaks.

Blazing opener “Enlighten in Agony” sets the tone early; a blasty, thrashing corker, bolstered by William’s authoritative percussion and punishing grooves. The ripping dual vox of Gallagher and Beasley, approaching classic Carcass levels of guttural harmony, lend the album a tough, vicious edge. Check their sick tradeoffs on the crushing, riff-fest of “Compulsion for Cruelty” for one example of their awesome work. Make Them Beg for Death may lack surprises but doesn’t want for killer songs. Shrewd melodic licks and endlessly chunky, hooky riffs collide with sweetly executed tempo shifts, technical tidbits, and an abundance of headbangable grooves and curb stomping slams. “Unbridled Fury” is an instant classic modern Dying Fetus tune, propelled by Williams’ thrashy, violent rhythms, hurtling bursts of speed, and a mix of Gallagher shred and moshable groove. Though not as manically unhinged as early classics “Killer Your Mother/Rape Your Dog” or “Pissing in the Mainstream,” the ultra-short, grindy rush of “Throw Them in the Van” is a tasty throwback nonetheless.

Gallagher is an imposing figure in the brutal death world and the dude excels in unleashing a spirited batch of top-shelf riffs and technical sweeps, knowing the precise moment to inject a scything melodic lead or shredding solo into the fray, such as the slashing solo that cuts through the muscle and bone of “Feast of Ashes.” Par for the course, Dying Fetus don’t muck around, preferring to get straight to the point, leading to a short, punchy album that goes hard from go to woah. Solid front to back, it is perhaps a tad front-loaded, with the second half featuring some belters (“Raised in Victory/Razed in Defeat,” “Hero’s Grave”), but also a couple of solid, fairly stock tunes that don’t quite match the album’s better moments. The production features trademark clear, crunchy tones, and a snappy snare, though could use a little more low-end oomph. Otherwise, it’s a neat package and fun listen, with the hooky writing, thrashy pulse, and melodic sensibilities also serving as a decent intro for the uninitiated.

Make Them Beg for Death may come up marginally short against their past couple of albums yet remains another distinguished slab of modern Dying Fetus quality, finding the band still punching out killer tunes and operating in fine form. As Gallagher proudly exclaimed, “let’s make it moshy, let’s make it slammy.” Dying Fetus succeed again in this regard, with a crunchy, addictive batch of rugged, no-frills staples to continue their hot streak and appease their legions of devotees. It may not be your favorite Dying Fetus album, but it’s a hell of a good time regardless (*Review by Saunders ).
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"wrong one to fuck with"
Year:  2017
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  11
Time:  38 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"reign supreme"
Year:  2012
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  10
Time:  38 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"descend into depravity"
Year:  2009
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  24 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"war of attrition"
Year:  2007
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  36 min.
Genre:  rock
Stle:        Death Metal








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"stop at nothing"
Year:  2003
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  38 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"destroy the opposition"
Year:  2000
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  36 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"killing on adrenaline"
Year:  1998
Label:  Morbid
Format:  CD
Tracks:  8
Time:  34 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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"purification through violence"
Year:  1996
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD, LP
Tracks:  8
Time:  38 min.
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








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6.14.2015

DYING FETUS



































"war of attrition"
Year:  2007
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD
Tracks:  8
Time:  42 min.
Lyrical themes:  politics , social issues
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal

















"On War of Attrition", hyper-technical-grindcore gurus Dying Fetus offer up more of the same, but the quality hasn't changed. The guys in Fetus still know how to make some fairly kick ass modern grindcore, despite what nay-sayers might say.   The riffs are pummeling as expected, super-fast grind riffs mixed in with chugga-chugga death metal riffing. They have a nice grit and rawness to them bringing an overall rich and deep sound to the table. The unfortunate thing is that most of the riffs aren't very memorable, which is something death metal in particular needs. It's not that they're clusterfucked and constantly changing like many contemporary death metal acts; it's that they just don't bring enough catchiness, groove, or shear technicality to be memorable. But they're not bad in the last bit, they just don't stick in the end, save for the track "Insidious Repression", which has some very nice, rather unforgettable riffs throughout. The bass guitar does a very nice job filling in the low end. It's fairly audible throughout and even pokes its ugly head out to take center-stage a few times, like in "Insidious Repression" and "Unadulterated Hatred". However, overall, it just fills in the sub-noise and really does nothing exceptional.   The drumming owns on this album. It's fast, fucking relentless, and fairly technical at times. Though the constant blast-beats can grow tiresome, the awesome fills and the overall pummeling driving force of them makes them probably the best part of the album.   And, notwithstanding, is the decent vocal performance, which mostly consists of septic gurgles usual for the genre, getting fairly boring after a while. However, the other, more high-pitched growls that are also used are much better, mainly because there's much more overall variety to them in that they change pitch and often carry some melody whereas the gurgles are fairly monotone, but they also add a small, but decent variety to the album. Having it littered with nothing but gurgles would undoubtably make it more of a boring listen.   So, all-in-all, a worthy release that goes by extremely underrated. Contrary to what the band's harshest critics might say, this is not Fetus selling out. This is Fetus continuing to kick ass with some top-notch thrash-metal, grindcore and Discharge "d-beat" spirit, despite its minor flaws (it lacks memorability in many areas and can get mildly boring at times).
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"Stop at nothing"
Year:  2003
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD
Tracks:  8
Time:  36 min.
Lyrical themes:  politics , social issues
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal







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"Destroy the opposition"
Year:  2000
Label:  Relapse
Format:  CD
Tracks:  8
Time:  36 min.
Lyrical themes:  politics , social issues
Genre:  rock
Style:        Death Metal








  Discogs   ,  Download