This band, before disbanding, put out three albums. Of those, this is the one most worth hearing. Hailing from Boston, their first album was an attempt to recreate the sounds of Norwegian style black metal, and was derivative as hell. Just another third-rate rip-off band. With such song titles as "Lycanthropy: Yonder Through Ice Storms," it was apparent they were trying a little TOO hard.
Fast forward to 1998. The band, strangely, gets picked up by the (at the time) new spanking Wicked World imprint of Earache Records and release this little gem. It barely shows any connection to their previous work. Instead of overly-symphonic black metal, what we have is a brutal fusion of black and death metal with elements of thrash. Stripped down, angry, yet focused on quality riffing, catchy hooks, and the kind of energy that seems to lack form over-produced bands of a similar vein these days. The transition of this band from their first album to this one reminds me of the addage of "write what you know." The band lost a close personal friend, and the authentic emotion shows. Lyrically and sonically, the band found their sound here. The odd soundbyties fit perfectly the completely contemporary take on misanthropy, urban misery, and the feeling like one could violently snap at any moment. While not necessarily a concept album, every song feels connected both musically and lyrically.
As of this writing, the band has reformed after having been defunct since 2003. They are looking to put out another album in the near future. I for one am curious to see what they do next.
Completely Dehumanized (Wicked World/Earache 1998)
Tracklisting
1. Conditioned By The Thoughts That I Transmit To You
2. Completely Dehmanized http://download.yousendit.com/08066AEF42AA8CA1
3. We Are Everywhere http://download.yousendit.com/53DD37896608C7BB
4. Time Flies When You Wish You Were Dead
5. Friday the 13th
6. The Gard Division
7. My Bible http://download.yousendit.com/8E327DB3488B0E89
8. Not With Tainted Blood http://download.yousendit.com/E50454553AFB1FCE
9. To Kill Without Emotion
(Yes, they're in fucking WMN files. I'm too lazy to be arsed with re-ripping or converting right now)
Fast forward to 1998. The band, strangely, gets picked up by the (at the time) new spanking Wicked World imprint of Earache Records and release this little gem. It barely shows any connection to their previous work. Instead of overly-symphonic black metal, what we have is a brutal fusion of black and death metal with elements of thrash. Stripped down, angry, yet focused on quality riffing, catchy hooks, and the kind of energy that seems to lack form over-produced bands of a similar vein these days. The transition of this band from their first album to this one reminds me of the addage of "write what you know." The band lost a close personal friend, and the authentic emotion shows. Lyrically and sonically, the band found their sound here. The odd soundbyties fit perfectly the completely contemporary take on misanthropy, urban misery, and the feeling like one could violently snap at any moment. While not necessarily a concept album, every song feels connected both musically and lyrically.
As of this writing, the band has reformed after having been defunct since 2003. They are looking to put out another album in the near future. I for one am curious to see what they do next.
Completely Dehumanized (Wicked World/Earache 1998)
Tracklisting
1. Conditioned By The Thoughts That I Transmit To You
2. Completely Dehmanized http://download.yousendit.com/08066AEF42AA8CA1
3. We Are Everywhere http://download.yousendit.com/53DD37896608C7BB
4. Time Flies When You Wish You Were Dead
5. Friday the 13th
6. The Gard Division
7. My Bible http://download.yousendit.com/8E327DB3488B0E89
8. Not With Tainted Blood http://download.yousendit.com/E50454553AFB1FCE
9. To Kill Without Emotion
(Yes, they're in fucking WMN files. I'm too lazy to be arsed with re-ripping or converting right now)
Not bad at all.
