Leptotrichia - Enjoy The Slaughter / Amputated - Up To Our Nuts In Guts
2004 - IBD 002 - Identified By Dental Records
By Philip Whitehouse
This split CD is only the second release by the fantastically-named Identified By Dental Records label (who, if I'm not too mistaken, used to be Dead Again Records), and sees two underground brutal death metal bands facing off against each other in a blur of kick-drums, growls and gore-splattered lyrical polemic. Which is great, obviously. So, what are they like?
Well, Leptotrichia (whose name isn't nearly as amusing as the label's, but it is giving my typing fingers some practice) kick off the split with four tracks of pure Florida-scene brutal death metal worship. The vocals are the usual cookie-monster growls in the vein of Vile and Cannibal Corpse, while the music resembles Suffocation in that it's downtuned, churning, tremolo-picked nastiness all the way. The riffs are good, the production adequate, and there is a level of songwriting maturity at work that suggests that Leptotrichia could have something to offer... at least, if the year wasn't 2004 and this kind of thing wasn't being done by a thousand garage death metal bands across the world. Sadly, however cool the riffs are and however proficient the musicians, Leptotrichia's total lack of individual identity render the Enjoy The Slaughter half of this split to be a slice of death metal that you'll nod your head to while it's on, and totally forget when it's over.
As for Amputated - well, strangely enough, they seem a tad sloppier than their opponents and rather less musically mature - but their grind-inflected brand of brutality rings rather more impressively on these ears. Perhaps it's the influence of Ollie from legendary Welsh purveyors of sickness Desecration who can be found within their ranks, maybe it's the spirit of early Carcass and Lividity which can sporadically be heard bouncing between the blasting kick drums, or perhaps it's the more brutal, bottom-end-heavy production, but whatever it is, Amputated own this split. Again, however, some more individuality would go down well.
5/10 for Leptotrichia, 6.5/10 for Amputated.
Identified By Dental Records Website
2004 - IBD 002 - Identified By Dental Records
By Philip Whitehouse
This split CD is only the second release by the fantastically-named Identified By Dental Records label (who, if I'm not too mistaken, used to be Dead Again Records), and sees two underground brutal death metal bands facing off against each other in a blur of kick-drums, growls and gore-splattered lyrical polemic. Which is great, obviously. So, what are they like?
Well, Leptotrichia (whose name isn't nearly as amusing as the label's, but it is giving my typing fingers some practice) kick off the split with four tracks of pure Florida-scene brutal death metal worship. The vocals are the usual cookie-monster growls in the vein of Vile and Cannibal Corpse, while the music resembles Suffocation in that it's downtuned, churning, tremolo-picked nastiness all the way. The riffs are good, the production adequate, and there is a level of songwriting maturity at work that suggests that Leptotrichia could have something to offer... at least, if the year wasn't 2004 and this kind of thing wasn't being done by a thousand garage death metal bands across the world. Sadly, however cool the riffs are and however proficient the musicians, Leptotrichia's total lack of individual identity render the Enjoy The Slaughter half of this split to be a slice of death metal that you'll nod your head to while it's on, and totally forget when it's over.
As for Amputated - well, strangely enough, they seem a tad sloppier than their opponents and rather less musically mature - but their grind-inflected brand of brutality rings rather more impressively on these ears. Perhaps it's the influence of Ollie from legendary Welsh purveyors of sickness Desecration who can be found within their ranks, maybe it's the spirit of early Carcass and Lividity which can sporadically be heard bouncing between the blasting kick drums, or perhaps it's the more brutal, bottom-end-heavy production, but whatever it is, Amputated own this split. Again, however, some more individuality would go down well.
5/10 for Leptotrichia, 6.5/10 for Amputated.
Identified By Dental Records Website
