Regorge - Kingdoms Of Derision
Dead Again Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Extreme metal from Scotland? Well, I suppose it's only fair - after all, the English invented grindcore (Napalm Death) and produced the three best doom metal bands (Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost before they went naff), and the Welsh are keeping up death metal's end with Desecration's increasingly tumultuous career, so I suppose it's only fair that the skirt-wearing psychos up North should get their turn, too.
Regorge appear to know that they have their work cut out for them, coming from a country more readily recognisable for the Highland fling and tartan than brutal death metal, so they play like they're out to prove something. And prove it they do. Imagine Cannibal Corpse, except with longer songs, extremely noodle-some finger-tapping riffs throughout out and if George Fisher spent most of the album regurgitating his vocal tract and you're coming close to the hellish noise Regorge create.
The vocalist almost constantly chooses to grunt and gurgle his way through the band's surprisingly intelligent lyrics, although occasionally he lets out a more black metal-esque screech when appropriate. The songs are fairly straightforward in their structure, not as complex as Cryptopsy but more complicated than, say, Obituary. The riffs themselves, however, are typically furiously-strummed palm-muted machine-gun blasts or more melodic, twiddly, hammer-on-pull-off speed assaults. Despite this, the whole album still feels nasty.
That's the trick of good death metal, I've always felt - the ability to conjure a feeling of menace, an atmosphere of malevolence but one that is strangely empowering, rather than frightening. And Regorge pull this off with aplomb. Listening to this album makes you feel evil, as the violent energy permeates the listener's consciousness and makes them want to destroy indescriminately.
However, there are a couple of small niggles - the producer at times apparently couldn't decide how loud they wanted the guitars to sound, so you will occasionally hear the riffs gradually fading in and out at times... also, the length of the songs is unusual in death metal (occasionally dwarfing even Morbid Angel), and although I found enough variation in the songs to keep my interest, I'm not sure whether that will hold true for everyone. On top of that, the ultra-harsh gurgle-vox predominant throughout make the lyrics utterly unintelligible for the most part, which is a shame because they're well written.
Other than these little gripes, though, this is a brilliant album from a highly capable group. Iron out the flaws, lads, and perhaps Scotland will be famous for something other than burly transvestites.
8.5/10
Writer's note - Phil would like to point out that the comments about the Scottish through the review were entirely tongue-in-cheek - he knows they're traditional dress, and that they're actually called kilts. No offense was intended. Got any haggis?
Dead Again Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Extreme metal from Scotland? Well, I suppose it's only fair - after all, the English invented grindcore (Napalm Death) and produced the three best doom metal bands (Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost before they went naff), and the Welsh are keeping up death metal's end with Desecration's increasingly tumultuous career, so I suppose it's only fair that the skirt-wearing psychos up North should get their turn, too.
Regorge appear to know that they have their work cut out for them, coming from a country more readily recognisable for the Highland fling and tartan than brutal death metal, so they play like they're out to prove something. And prove it they do. Imagine Cannibal Corpse, except with longer songs, extremely noodle-some finger-tapping riffs throughout out and if George Fisher spent most of the album regurgitating his vocal tract and you're coming close to the hellish noise Regorge create.
The vocalist almost constantly chooses to grunt and gurgle his way through the band's surprisingly intelligent lyrics, although occasionally he lets out a more black metal-esque screech when appropriate. The songs are fairly straightforward in their structure, not as complex as Cryptopsy but more complicated than, say, Obituary. The riffs themselves, however, are typically furiously-strummed palm-muted machine-gun blasts or more melodic, twiddly, hammer-on-pull-off speed assaults. Despite this, the whole album still feels nasty.
That's the trick of good death metal, I've always felt - the ability to conjure a feeling of menace, an atmosphere of malevolence but one that is strangely empowering, rather than frightening. And Regorge pull this off with aplomb. Listening to this album makes you feel evil, as the violent energy permeates the listener's consciousness and makes them want to destroy indescriminately.
However, there are a couple of small niggles - the producer at times apparently couldn't decide how loud they wanted the guitars to sound, so you will occasionally hear the riffs gradually fading in and out at times... also, the length of the songs is unusual in death metal (occasionally dwarfing even Morbid Angel), and although I found enough variation in the songs to keep my interest, I'm not sure whether that will hold true for everyone. On top of that, the ultra-harsh gurgle-vox predominant throughout make the lyrics utterly unintelligible for the most part, which is a shame because they're well written.
Other than these little gripes, though, this is a brilliant album from a highly capable group. Iron out the flaws, lads, and perhaps Scotland will be famous for something other than burly transvestites.
8.5/10
Writer's note - Phil would like to point out that the comments about the Scottish through the review were entirely tongue-in-cheek - he knows they're traditional dress, and that they're actually called kilts. No offense was intended. Got any haggis?
