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Subhuman: Profondo rozzo

04/11/09 || Khlysty

OK, here’s the deal: came back from vacation, end of August. Did an awesome The Amenta review for GD. Prepared myself for work. Then, our shitty ex-Prime Minister declared that there would be an election in one month from then. Shit hit fan. Worked constantly, subtracting sleep from my vocabulary. Then computer crashed and Internet connection died. FOR TEN FUCKING DAYS!!!! Stole Internet from neighbour. Continued working. Election Day came and passed. New government. Still, lotsa work. On the verge of collapsus. Now, still lotsa work, but more free time… You see where I’m getting at, right?

Where I’m getting at is that I’m tired to the point of exhaustion, really pissed off and READY TO RIP A NEW ONE TO ANYONE LOOKS ME THE WRONG WAY! Probably not the best mood to review records, but that’s the deal and it won’t change any time soon. When not listening to for-review records, I’m revisiting my Agoraphobic Nosebleed collection for inspiration and, well, anyone can guess into what frame of mind this puts me, right? And, as the new GD motto declares “Metal Deserves Better”. So, here I am again, a mean, green, killing machine, ready to spill some blood. Are you with me, guys and dudettes?

So, Subhuman, from Pisa, Italy, and their first record, “Profondo Rozzo”. Two remarks in the beginning, and then on with the review. The band’s name doesn’t exactly reeks of originality: if I can remember correctly, during the ‘80s-‘90s there were at least two bands with this moniker, here in Greece (one a metal band, the other some punk dudes). So, as a first impression, this is not very encouraging. Second, the film Profondo Rosso by Dario Argento is one of the best gialli ever, with lots of killings, blood, mystery, baroque scernery, plus great music by Goblin. I would suggest that anyone with even a passing interest in Italian ‘70s thrillers should see it immediately. End of introductory remarks; let’s move on to the main dish.

Subhuman plays a kind of thrashing death metal that what reminds me the most is some crossover bands from the Golden Thrash Era (Possessed is the first that comes to mind), but without the sloppiness of execution or the horrible production values. So, what we get in “Profondo Rozzo” is lots of thrashy riffs, with screamo-growly-screechy vocals on top and pretty good sequencing and production. I won’t go so far as to call the record’s pace as “relentless”, by everything here moves with a pretty brisk pacing. If you want my opinion, I would go as far as calling Subhuman more thrash than death, since there’s a serious lack of low end in the production, with everything moving within the midrange – upper register, while there’s none of death metal crazy-ass calisthenics here: most songs follow a pretty linear development, with some slowing down or speeding up that just adds flavour to each song’s basic m.o.

The drumming is pretty tight (even though I sense a lot of triggering) and the songs are basically melodic with nice guitarwork and soloing here and there. Lyrically, even though the words are in Italian, one gets a feeling of a general pissed-off-ness, but, of course, I cannot be sure. So, what’s the bottom line here? Well, this is a pretty good record, if you’re looking for something to mosh out to. It’s not exactly original, nor is it this heavy, so that it can be slotted squarely into death metal territory. But if one’s looking for a good time, one can make worst choices that Subhuman…

7,5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Maple Metal Records
Website: Subhuman MySpace
Band
Fabrizio “Zula” Ferzola: vocals
Matteo Buti: guitar
Elia Murgia: guitar
Federico Fulceri: bass
Francesco Micieli: drums

Tracklist
01. Profondo Rozzo
02. Nata Troia
03. Trenta Denari
04. Mafia
05. Odio Chiama Odio
06. Babbo Fatale
07. Il Bersagliere Ha 100 Penne
08. Infamia & Potere
09. 1.110 Giorni

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