Tenebrum Infectus - Tenebrum Infectus
2004 - CDAR92 - Adipocere Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Mingling grindcore's ear for a ten-second blast with death metal's down-tuned mid-tempo chuggery, French band Tenebrum Infectus weigh in with 16 tracks of unfettered brutality. 'Human's Regression' is a churning, laborious, heavyweight slog of a track, whilst 'Tenebrum Infectus' is a nine-second stab of heaviness aimed squarely at the grindcore enthusiast. Generally, the longer songs draw on the Floridian/American school of death metal, with occasional harmonic squeals, technical but not particularly melodic guitar work, and tight musicianship.
The vocals range from typical cookie-monster vox to more high pitched screams, and occasional Tenebrum Infectus do raise an eyebrow with a particularly savage riff. The punchy, powerful but clear production also aids matters, particularly when the pace slows and the slow-grinding guitars are given time to fully hook their claws in.
However, there's nothing particularly new to be found within. It's well-played, well-written, and undoubtedly pretty damned brutal. Sadly, it's also quite pedestrian, in a heard-it-all-a-hundred-times-before kind of way. Something for brutality fanatics only, then.
6.5/10
Adipocere Records Website
2004 - CDAR92 - Adipocere Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Mingling grindcore's ear for a ten-second blast with death metal's down-tuned mid-tempo chuggery, French band Tenebrum Infectus weigh in with 16 tracks of unfettered brutality. 'Human's Regression' is a churning, laborious, heavyweight slog of a track, whilst 'Tenebrum Infectus' is a nine-second stab of heaviness aimed squarely at the grindcore enthusiast. Generally, the longer songs draw on the Floridian/American school of death metal, with occasional harmonic squeals, technical but not particularly melodic guitar work, and tight musicianship.
The vocals range from typical cookie-monster vox to more high pitched screams, and occasional Tenebrum Infectus do raise an eyebrow with a particularly savage riff. The punchy, powerful but clear production also aids matters, particularly when the pace slows and the slow-grinding guitars are given time to fully hook their claws in.
However, there's nothing particularly new to be found within. It's well-played, well-written, and undoubtedly pretty damned brutal. Sadly, it's also quite pedestrian, in a heard-it-all-a-hundred-times-before kind of way. Something for brutality fanatics only, then.
6.5/10
Adipocere Records Website
