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Visceral Bleeding: Transcend into ferocity
30/03/11 || The Duff
Hand on heart, I’m not the greatest reviewer in town; yup, you got me – there are times my vocab is either repetitive or downright incorrect, the same old dick and pussy jokes because I’m running out of ways to express “I’M NOT GETTING ANY TONIGHT EITHER THEN, AM I?!”, and then there are the times I don’t give albums their due or simply haven’t a fucking clue what I’m talking about, what music scene I’m covering or why my dick is lubed up and inserted inside a Walker’s Crisps packet with a rubber band tight around the base (Gary Lineker… OF COURSE!).
My review of Visceral Bleeding’s “Remnants of Deprivation” was all of the above, a tech death album that I can still enjoy to this day, but there’s no doubt it was a rush job piece on my part – had I been worth my salt, I would have identified Cannibal Corpse worship as the chief (and only) influence. Still, three years on and I still have my job here at GD, probably the UK government of metal webzines (hohoho), so here I am to say that “Transcend into Ferocity”, my first discovery of this Swedish quintet so many years ago, is the band’s foray into forging their own sound and a very successful one at that.
The band’s latest, “Absorbing the Disarray”, is still disappointing to these ears, but having given both it and “Transcend…” spin-throughs recently I’ve discovered they aren’t all too dissimilar, it’s simply the latter is catchier where it matters and the production isn’t nearly as reedy. The other chief difference between albums is that Dennis Röndum of Spawn of Possession fame is vocalist, although why you would have him in the line-up and not behind the drum-kit will remain a mystery to millions (of my sperm cells).
More guttural than the yapping Pedersen, the vocalist to Spawn of Possession’s “Cabinet” doesn’t have the range or sense of character unfortunately, but the job is done in complementary fashion and gives the album a more old-fashioned feel. The music on the other hand is performed to fine standard, if only a touch rundown when compared with a) other tech death bands running the same game (Gorod, Anata, Spawn of Possession) and b) the real groove-led and tech aspects of “Transcend…” that work most successfully.
Some of the overblown sections seem to have limited direction, and even aren’t all that technical but rather appear how many times they can jam random notes into straightforward riffs. Also, some of the more rudimentary sections come across as simply for contrast despite the catchy head-sway they provoke. Still, we’re talking a well-rounded effort from a young, voracious outfit, something that is a staple in the sub-genre much like “Remnants of Deprivation”, only this time with more variation; meaning influences other than Cannibal Corpse.
The musicianship is aces, real dense and stocky, the production accentuating this by displaying a somewhat clunky style to complex death metal; this opinion is of course entirely pushed aside by the, as always, innovative and swerving lead-playing, which again is swarmed in thick tone implying clumsy, fat fingers but to the discerning ear is faultlessly played through a distortion that would readily reveal any player’s weaknesses.
My final point is that, in error, I may have overstated the skills of Niklas Dewerud on “Remnants of Deprivation” (turns out it was Tobbe on the “Remnants Revived” all along anyways); Persson is a dexterous, playful drummer who doesn’t quite hit me square in the head but nonetheless is a valuable asset to a band that never outshines the competition but ambles alongside it very comfortably.
- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label: Neurotic Records
- Website: Visceral Bleeding MySpace
- Band
- Dennis Röndum: vocals
- Peter Persson: guitar
- Marcus Nilsson: lead Guitar
- Calle Löfgren: bass
- Tobbe Persson: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Merely Parts Remain
- 02. Fed to the Dogs
- 03. Indulge in Self Mutilation
- 04. Fury Unleashed
- 05. Trephine the Malformed
- 06. All Flesh…
- 07. Clenched Fist Obedience
- 08.Fire Took His Face
- 09. When Pain Came to Town
