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Category: Metal Blade Records

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Now defunct New York grindcore unit Brutal Truth observed in 1992 that “Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses” and they couldn’t have been more right in that assessment. Marlborough, Massachusetts death metal upstarts Abnormality have been experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity. They made a name for themselves with their independently distributed “The Collective Calm In Mortal Oblivion” EP and inked a deal with Sevared Records (which embodies about the worst of United Guttural, Pavement/Crash Music, and Comatose Music, combined) on the back of its success. “Contaminating the Hive Mind” followed two years later and their ascending popularity helped Abnormality secure a contract with Metal Blade Records. The presence of one Mallika Sundaramurthy certainly helps but it would all be for naught if she was merely a pretty face. No. Abnormality has a penchant for writing chunky death metal that is groovy and technical in equal measure. They aren't afraid of a good hook or guitar solo either.

The past four years have been a period of great unrest; political, social, and otherwise. Abnormality has always been inspired by socio-political events but “Sociopathic Constructs” is the first time the Bostonians dedicate an entire record to the subject. Sundaramurthy (who now lives in the Czech Republic) and her men aren’t going to let the current political climate and turmoil pass without taking a stand nor without a fight. This is a band that wants to be remembered for being on the right side of history. Sundaramurthy has every reason to be foaming at the mouth looking at the increasingly theocratic – and totalitarian state of her first adopted home. Professional con man and supposed savior of the fundamentalist Christian Wrong Donald Trump has somehow been elevated to the country’s highest office and things have been getting worse from there. In his first (and, hopefully, only) term the Orange Idiot has facilitated widespread corruption and cronyism, has seen to the systemic oppression of minorities, the erosion of civil liberties, the abolition of women’s rights, and the dismantling of what little social security existed in the Land of the Free. America has entered a second Dark Age, one of religious superstition and proud anti-intellectualism. “Sociopathic Constructs” is a scathing polemic against the current powers that be.

Sundaramurthy has always had a razorsharp pen and songtitles as ‘Fabrication Of the Enemy’, ‘A Chaos Reserved’, ‘Vigilant Ignorance’, and ‘Hopeless Masses’ in their repertoire it will surprise absolutely no one that “Sociopathic Constructs” pushes their socio-political angle to the fore. Abnormality isn’t as overtly political as, say, Dying Fetus or Fear Factory but that doesn’t remove that “Sociopathic Constructs” has some of this band’s finest work on the compositional – and lyric writing front. Mallika has always been a marvelous woman that serves as an inspiration to many of her sisters. She’s an outspoken and fiercely intelligent woman; a feminist, veganist, and small business owner. On “Sociopathic Constructs” Mallika once again showcases why she’s one of the best frontpersons in the business. She truly is the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the underground. The rest of the band (yeah, apparently there are other people in Abnormality outside of Mallika, as hard as it may be to believe) doesn’t falter either. Guitarist duo Jeremy Henry and Sam Kirsch unleash a veritable maelstrom of concrete riffing schemes with rhythm section Josh Staples (bass guitar) and Jay Blaisdell (drums) meting out swift punishment without resorting to random chaos for its own sake. We were more than a little indifferent towards “Mechanisms Of Omniscience” but “Sociopathic Constructs” is the record we always knew Abnormality had in them. Which is to say, “Sociopathic Constructs” absolutely and categorically slays. Everything has been building up to this. This is the album where Abnormality fulfills its potential.

One of Abnormality’s greatest strengths has always been their sense of propulsion and drive. “Sociopathic Constructs” is what Disgorge would sound like if they played with the chunk of early Cannibal Corpse and the technicality and production value of Brain Drill. This is what we hoped the Drill’s “Boundless Obscenity” would have sounded like or what Suffocation’s “…Of the Dark Light” would have been if they fully shed their skin and the pretense that they still had anything to do with the Suffocation that wrote “Breeding the Spawn”. Abnormality answers the question what Cannibal Corpse would have sounded like had they persevered with the technical direction of “Butchered at Birth”. Abnormality has always excelled in merging California informed technicality and percussiveness with a level of intensity not unlike Québecois death metal. Hopefully the current climate - social, political, and otherwise - will inspire Mallika, and Carolina Perez (from Queens, New York combo Hypoxia) to revive their sometime feminist death metal side-project Castrator. If there ever was a time for that, that time is now. What better reason than the serial sex offender holding the highest political office in the land?

Art does not exist in a vacuum (no matter how much certain demographics might prefer to delude themselves into thinking otherwise). Art reflects the society in which it was created. “Sociopathic Constructs” is one such creations. This is a record that couldn’t have been released in any other time than the year 2019. The Talibangelicals have been working overtime to transform America in the great Christian theocracy they’ve been so long desiring. Never mind that the Land of the Free is collapsing into the state of the backwater banana republics they’ve been bombing into submission for the last several decades. The War on Terror has been on of the greatest swindles of modern history and the US military-industrial complex has always been a savage imperialistic beast that always takes but never gives. “Sociopathic Constructs” does absolutely take no prisoners and its message of disconformity and protest is loud and clear. No longer can we afford to idly sit by as the world burns to a cinder. “Sociopathic Constructs” might not have the storytelling capacity of an “Operation: Mindcrime” exactly, but as a loosely conceptual recording this couldn’t have come at a better time.

Published on Leave a comment on Monstrosity – The Passage Of Existence

Of all the classic Florida death metal bands Monstrosity for some reason never quite rose to the level of prominence and visibility as their peers in Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel, and Obituary. Up until 2007 Monstrosity was a reliable second-tier with a healthy work ethic and a respectable measure of quality even though they weren’t as prolific in terms of releases as some of their more popular contemporaries. 2007’s “Spiritual Apocalypse” heralded a new era for Monstrosity and rejuvenated their robust death metal with a progressive, more melodic slant and drastically improved production values. In 2012 the live DVD “Live Apocalypse” was released to little fanfare and even littler press. Then… nothing happened. For 11 years the world waited with bated breath for Monstrosity to finally claim their rightful place among the celebrated elite in the genre’s hallowed upper echelons. Except nothing really happened outside of the surfacing of the occassional rehearsal video. Then suddenly “The Passage Of Existence” was announced. Apparently forever relegated to second-tier status Monstrosity once again proves that they’re still better than everyone else.

“The Passage Of Existence” is a refinement of the more progressive direction that “Spiritual Apocalypse” introduced and it largely consists of the same musicians. The closest equal to “The Passage Of Existence” is Death’s landmark epic “Symbolic”. Indeed. In the 11 year layoff in between albums Lee Harrison and his companions have honed, fine-tuned and perfected their assault from the ground up. “The Passage Of Existence” sounds unmistakably like Monstrosity only do they now sound as highly stylized, deliberately paced, and as melodic and neoclassical as they have ever been. It might not be as outright percussive as, say, “Imperial Doom” or “Millennium” but it combines the technical showmanship of “Rise to Power” with the subtlely progressive – and more melodic inclinations from “Spiritual Apocalypse”. “The Passage Of Existence” reveals its intricacies in playing and composition gradually. It banks far more on control, precision and restraint than it does on engrossing the listener on initial discovery. In other words, it is a grower of an album that reveals a multitude of details and layers only on repeated listens. As heavy as Morbid Angel sounded on “Kingdoms Disdained” Monstrosity has actually eclipsed them years ago in terms of songwriting and performance. It’s almost criminal how underappreciated Monstrosity still is even after nearly 30 years.

Carried over from “Spiritual Apocalypse” are frontman Mike Hrubovcak (who will have a second release out in 2018 with Hypoxia’s second offering “Abhorrent Decimation” on Ultimate Massacre Productions), bass guitarist Mike Poggione, lead guitarist duo Mark English (who also figured into the surprisingly decent “Overtures Of Blasphemy” from Deicide) and relatively-new Matt Barnes and founder/drummer Lee Harrison. Spanning 12 tracks and about an hour’s worth of music some of the material for “The Passage Of Existence” was written as early as 2009 and others were premiered as bare-bones rehearsal videos in 2013 (‘Solar Vacuum’, ‘Dark Matter Invocation’). Where “The Passage Of Existence” bears the most similarities to Death’s “Symbolic” is that the pace is far lower than in the past, there’s an advanced sense of melodicism that runs through out and all the songs are elegantly constructed compositions with extended sections of neoclassical soloing and some of the best drumming one is likely to hear. The spirit and mentality of Chuck Schuldiner was never more present than it is on here. Hopefully “The Passage Of Existence” will herald a new era of productivity and visibility for Monstrosity, whose modest body of work should speak for itself by now. “The Passage Of Existence” is erroneously dubbed a comeback by some less discerning critics but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Monstrosity might have been existing on the periphery in the decade-plus since “Spiritual Apocalypse” but they always remained active.

While “The Passage Of Existence” is consistently strong through out and there aren’t any notable lapses in quality it does lack something in way of a signature song. In fact “The Passage Of Existence” is so stylistically consistent that it’s sometimes hard to tell where one song ends and another one begins. There’s so much happening in each and every song that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of. Everybody gets their moment in the limelight, whether it’s Lee Harrison’s always versatile and acrobatic drumming, Mike Poggione’s flowing funky bass licks that support the guitars as much as they solo on their own or the exquisite leads and beautifully laid-out solos from Mark English and Matt Barnes. Mike Hrubovcak is pretty much himself and his vocals haven’t changed much from the bygone times of “The Burning Passion” from his erstwhile unit Divine Rapture. The fantastic artwork from Timbul Cahyono of bvllmetalart is in line with past efforts and reminiscent of Atheist's "Elements". It probably is the most accomplished art Monstrosity has had to date. The production is similar to that from “Spiritual Apocalypse” except that it is far cleaner sounding. Overall it combines the weight of “In Dark Purity” with the clarity of “Rise to Power”.

Morbid Angel’s fall from grace and subsequent restoration has been much publicized. Deicide has been existing a state of quiet resignation (or stagnation, if you prefer) for longer than that they’ve been relevant to the genre they helped define. Malevolent Creation has been courageously soldiering on regardless of how unfavorable the circumstances in which they find themselves and the lesser said about Obituary’s post-reunion albums the better. Always a silent force in the once-potent Florida death metal scene “The Passage Of Existence” might just be the strongest offering Monstrosity has yet conjured forth. It possesses a zeal and a sense of purpose that a lot of the more seasoned acts lack. Monstrosity never took anything for granted and “The Passage Of Existence” is testament to that. It might not be as immediate and straightforward as some of fans might have wished or wanted but that doesn’t stop it from being an amazing achievement on its own. We can only hope that it doesn’t take another 11 years to write, produce and record a follow-up to this formidable genre exercise that puts many of the band’s peers and competitors to shame. The Horror Infinity looms as strong as ever…